Iga Swiatek is set to go to Indian Wells only as an alternate for the eight-player WTA Finals field that begins play on November 8.

Her withdrawal from the WTA 500 Ningbo Open on Tuesday ended a mathematical race she had been chasing all month. Trailing Karolina Muchova by 545 points in the Race standings and with Muchova not entered in either of the two remaining qualifying events, Swiatek can no longer catch the Czech for the last qualifying spot.

Andy Roddick, speaking on his Served podcast, defended the decision in his usual blunt style.

“If there’s a leg injury and there is enough mental stress to cry your way through a loss in Wuhan I don’t know that I give a s, about making the world tour finals if I’m Iga and if I’m on her team,” the former world No. 1 said.

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545 points and no way back

Swiatek has been managing a left thigh problem for weeks. The injury flared in her Wuhan Open semifinal loss to Maja Chwalinska last week.

“After careful consideration, I’ve decided to withdraw from the tournament,” Swiatek said in a statement. “I’ve been experiencing an ongoing problem with my left thigh over the past weeks and I feel that giving myself the time to rest and recover is the right decision.”

With Muchova not entered in either Ningbo or Tokyo, her points total is locked in. Marta Kostyuk is the only other player with a route to Muchova’s spot, but she would have to win both the Ningbo Open and next week’s Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo to overtake the Czech.

‘You deal in slams and number one rankings’

Roddick’s broader argument on the podcast was that end-of-season rankings are the wrong priority for a player of Swiatek’s standing.

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“If you’re a six-time slam winner, you deal in wins and losses and slams and number one rankings,” he said. “Your focus and your priority is not am I [ranked] 10, am I [ranked] eight, it’s getting ready so that you can ramp up and try to win a slam next year.”

He placed Swiatek alongside Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters as players already locked into tennis history.

“She has as many slams [Stefan] Edberg, [Boris] Becker, [Maria] Sharapova, Kim [Clijsters], like she is already great and will forever live as an all-time great,” Roddick said.

The field heading to Indian Wells

Seven players have officially qualified for the November 8-15 tournament at Indian Wells Tennis Garden: Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Elina Svitolina and Linda Noskova. Noskova booked her place as the highest-ranked current-year Grand Slam winner outside the top seven on the back of her Wimbledon title. Muchova is set to take the last spot in the standings that Swiatek can no longer reach.

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Swiatek has had the stronger second half of the season under new coach Francisco Roig, including a Canadian Open title during the North American hardcourt swing. She will finish 2026 without a major for the first time since 2019.

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