World No. 6 Linda Noskova is withdrawing from the Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open, citing a left calf injury.
Since Noskova withdrew before the release of the first order of play, No. 9 seed Belinda Bencic — the next available seeded player to receive a bye — takes Noskova’s spot on Line 48 of the draw and will have a bye into the second round.
Anna Kalinskaya, the next available player to be seeded then assumes Bencic’s spot on Line 9 in the draw and will face Zhang Shuai in the first round. Kalinskaya’s original spot will be replaced a lucky loser tomorrow before the start of play. To see an updated singles main draw, click here.
The move comes a few days after Noskova, alongside Mirra Andreeva, qualified for her first-ever WTA Finals, which will be held at Indian Wells from November 8-15. Noskova is currently not entered in any other tournament leading into the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz’ year-end event.
Noskova most recently competed at the China Open in Beijing, where she was defeated by Ekaterina Alexandrova in the fourth round. Noskova currently holds a 35-16 record on the season with two titles, Wimbledon and Berlin.
Noskova is the latest player to miss Wuhan, joining World No. 1 Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, Amanda Anisimova and others.
In addition, Oleksandra Oliynykova also pulled out Sunday with a right ankle injury, and was replaced by a qualifier, Aoi Ito. The Wuhan Open’s main draw begins Monday, October 12 and finishes with the finals on Sunday, October 18.