Emma Raducanu sneaked into a seeded position for this week’s China Open in Beijing, but she will not be on the elite list of top-ranked players when she plays her next tournament in Wuhan.

With a bigger draw in Beijing, Raducanu sneaked into a seeded position as 32 players who received byes in the first round, but there is a smaller 64-player draw for a one-week event in Wuhan.

It will have the same 1,000 ranking points up for grabs, but the quality of the field will be strong for the final marquee event of the regular WTA Tour season.

The entry list is out for the WTA 1000 tournament and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will return after she opted to skip this week’s tournament in Beijing in favour of an extended break after her US Open win, after suffering a minor injury.

“Due to an injury sustained during the US Open and the ongoing recovery process, I regretfully announce that I will withdraw from this year’s China Open,” said Sabalenka.

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“I will focus on my recovery and strive to return to 100% condition as soon as possible. I can’t wait to see my fans in China! I look forward to returning to Beijing next year and wish you all the best for your tournament.”

The world No 1 has spent the last few days enjoying the Greek sun and also preparing, with her regular updates on her Instagram account giving her fans an insight into her training regime as she prepares to return to action.

The Wuhan final could see Sabalenka lock horns with her old rival Iga Swiatek once again, with the Polish star set to be No 2 seed ahead of French Open champion Coco Gauff.

Elina Svitolina and Beatriz Haddad Maia are the only players from the top 40 of the rankings to miss the Wuhan tournament, with 2021 US Open champion Raducanu gaining direct entry for an event she missed last year due to injury.

Raducanu will be keen to make progress in Wuhan, but she could face Sabalenka, Swiatek or Gauff in the opening round, as she will face one of the top 16 seeds in the early rounds.

Raducanu lost against Swiatek at the Australian Open and French Open and was beaten in an epic match by Sabalenka at Wimbledon, so she will be hoping to avoid the big-hitters in the early round.

The prize money pot for the WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan stands at $3,654,963, with Sabalenka’s win last year earning her $525,115.

Direct entry to WTA 1000 in Wuhan

1 Aryna Sabalenka
2 Iga Swiatek
3 Coco Gauff
4 Amanda Anisimova
5 Mirra Andreeva
6 Madison Keys
7 Jessica Pegula
8 Jasmine Paolini
9 Qinwen Zheng
10 Elena Rybakina
11 Ekaterina Alexandrova
12 Clara Tauson
13 Elina Svitolina
14 Naomi Osaka
15 Karolina Muchova
16 Daria Kasatkina
17 Belinda Bencic
18 Emma Navarro
19 Diana Shnaider
20 Paula Badosa
21 Liudmila Samsonova
22 Elise Mertens
23 Victoria Mboko
24 Jelena Ostapenko
25 Marta Kostyuk
26 Veronika Kudermetova
27 Beatriz Haddad
28 Leylah Fernandez
29 Inda Noskova
30 Magdalena Frech
31 Sofia Kenin
32 Anna Kalinskaya
33 Dayana Yastremska
34 Emma Raducanu
35 Xinyu Wang
36 Marketa Vondrousova
37 Magda Linette
38 Sorana Cirstea
39 Rebecca Sramkova
40 Mccartney Kessler
41 Arbora Krejcikova
42 Karolina Pliskova
43 Olga Danilovic

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