Jessica Pegula has withdrawn from the Singapore Open, removing the tournament’s top seed after what she described as “a long and physically demanding few weeks”. The world No 3 had been set to lead the WTA 500 entry list, but said she is “not quite ready” to return after a packed North American hard-court stretch that left her with 19 matches in just over a month.

Pegula’s results over that period show how busy the run has been. She opened with a runners-up finish at the Washington DC Open, then reached the round of 16 at the Canadian Open. She later went back to the United States, where she lost the Cincinnati Open final before falling in the semi-final of the US Open.

“I’m really disappointed to have to withdraw from Singapore,” she wrote on social media. “After a long and physically demanding few weeks at the US Open, I’m just not quite ready to get back on court and compete at the level I expect from myself.

“I was really looking forward to playing in Singapore and hope I can come back in the future.”

Organisers have not yet announced her replacement, but Pegula is the third seeded player to withdraw and the seventh player overall to pull out of the event.

World No 13 Diana Shnaider, who had been in line to seed fourth, also withdrew, as did fifth seed Sorana Cirstea, ranked No 15. Ekaterina Alexandrova, Anastasia Potapova, Ann Li and Clara Tauson are the other withdrawals.

The reshuffle has already moved several players into new positions. Alycia Parks, Daria Kasatkina, Talia Gibson and Aliaksandra Sasnovich have entered the main draw after earlier withdrawals. World No 5 Mirra Andreeva will now replace Pegula as top seed, while Amanda Anisimova will lead the bottom half.

World No 18 Alex Eala rises to third seed, with Elise Mertens, Maja Chwalinska, Sara Bejlek, Maria Sakkari and Barbora Krejcikova completing the seeded list.

Mertens is the defending champion after beating Li in the final of the inaugural edition in February 2025. The tournament has since been upgraded from a WTA 250 to a WTA 500 and moved to September.

Alex Eala was again among the notable names at the US Open, with strong crowd interest following her from one match to the next. Her tournament, however, came to an end in the third round.

The Filipina was edged by close friend Iva Jovic in a compelling three-set battle on Arthur Ashe, after earlier wins over Mary Stoiana and Oleksandra Oliynykova. Eala fell 7-6, 3-6, 7-5, narrowly missing a place in the second week of a Grand Slam.

That result gives her more recovery time than usual before her next event, the Singapore Open, which is scheduled to launch the WTA Tour’s Asian swing on 21st September. The field there is expected to include Jessica Pegula, Mirra Andreeva, and Amanda Anisimova.

Her decision to rest is not surprising, given the amount of tennis she has played in 2026. Even so, there is a case to be made that she passed up a valuable chance by not entering the Guadalajara Open. The WTA 500 event began the day after the US Open final and offers a field with limited depth. Marta Kostyuk is the only top-10 player entered, while only four players from the top 30 are in the draw.

For Eala, it could have been an important route to another WTA 500 title after her first at the Washington Open earlier this year. She is also due to miss the China Open because of her Asian Games appearance, meaning she will already be behind some of her ranking rivals.

Eala is currently world No 18, a career-high position, and still has an outside chance of reaching the WTA Finals at season’s end. In that context, the 500 points available in Guadalajara would have carried real value.

Instead, she moves on to Singapore, where the draw also includes Sara Bejlek, Maja Chwalinksa, Elise Mertens, and Maria Sakkari, making a deep run a significant challenge.

Aryna Sabalenka’s difficult stretch continued at the Cincinnati Open, where the world No. 1 fell in the fourth round to unseeded Sara Bejlek. Leading coach Rick Macci said he believes “Sabalenka is competing against herself”.

Sabalenka opened the 2026 campaign in strong fashion, defending her Brisbane International title before reaching the Australian Open final, where she finished runner-up to Elena Rybakina. She then built a major cushion over her rivals in March by winning both Indian Wells and Miami to complete the Sunshine Double. Since then, however, her results have fallen away. Diana Shnaider beat her in the Roland Garros quarter-finals, and Naomi Osaka sent her out in the fourth round at Wimbledon.

That uneven run has continued on the North American hard courts. Sabalenka was previously defeated by Ekaterina Alexandrova in the round of 16, and her Cincinnati exit added another setback. Against Bejlek, the opening set was closely fought. Sabalenka broke in the first game, but the 20-year-old recovered and took the tie-break. In the second set, Bejlek broke immediately, Sabalenka responded by winning four straight games and moving 4-1 ahead, yet she did not claim another game as Bejlek closed out a 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 victory.

Sabalenka now holds a 40-8 record for the season, but Macci thinks confidence is becoming a concern. “Sabalenka is on a slippery slope as the Belarus Bomber still has an unreal serve but in tough moments I see a different mindset with her nerve,” he wrote on X.

The loss also leaves the top ranking under threat. Rybakina can move to No. 1 if she reaches the Cincinnati final. Even if she does not capitalise there, the US Open offers another chance, with Sabalenka defending 2,000 points after winning last year’s title while Rybakina is defending only 240. Macci described the upcoming tournament in New York as “wide open”. He added: “Right now Sabalenka is competing against herself. When an athlete does this you can still get a few wins but mentally your confidence spins,” before calling it “the U.S. WIDE OPEN for the WTA as 15 different players could have the final say.”