The three Chinese tennis stars face the greatest pressure in Miami, while the withdrawal wave from Dubai also affects many players withdrawing from Merida.

Although the Dubai 1000 tournament is reaching its climax, the lack of Chinese stars participating makes the viewing experience feel somewhat incomplete and less thrilling. Hence, the announcement of the Miami 1000 lineup immediately captured everyone’s attention.

This year, Dubai has been jokingly called the most unlucky tournament for Chinese female players. Besides Wang Xinyu withdrawing before the tournament and Zheng Qinwen suddenly pulling out due to illness before the start, the Chinese players appearing in doubles also failed to make a splash and left the Middle East early.

In the past, even if Chinese players were quiet in singles, others led by Zhang Shuai always brought surprises in doubles. Unexpectedly, even the most reliable star Zhang Shuai failed this time, as her partnership with Mertens won only one match in Dubai doubles before exiting in the second round, which was quite surprising!

Thus, while everyone praised other players’ impressive performances in Dubai, they also eagerly awaited announcements for upcoming tournaments to see which Chinese stars would appear.

The Miami 1000 tournament truly understands the hearts of Chinese fans and netizens by announcing its player roster early, fulfilling their wishes.

According to the announced lineup for this 1000 event, besides top players like Sabalenka and Swiatek returning after withdrawing from Dubai, three Chinese stars are confirmed to compete in the main draw: Zheng Qinwen, Wang Xinyu, and Wang Yafan.

Among these three, Zheng Qinwen faces the greatest pressure.

Wang Yafan, who lost in the first round of Miami qualifying last year and withdrew from the Australian Open this year due to health reasons, has not competed since. Returning from the North American Sunshine double tournaments, everyone is eager to see if she can perform at her best and seize the chance to gain ranking points.

Although Wang Xinyu played in Miami’s main draw last year, she lost in straight sets to Russian player Kudermetova in the first round, resulting in an early exit. This year, the tournament represents another excellent opportunity for her to earn ranking points.

Nowadays, whenever people mention Wang Xinyu, they regard her as a strong threat to Zheng Qinwen’s top Chinese player status, since their ranking gap is quite narrow. Some even say that if Wang Xinyu capitalizes on the North American Sunshine events, she might soon replace Zheng Qinwen as China’s leading female player.

Last year, Zheng Qinwen reached the quarterfinals in Miami. After missing the chance to earn points by withdrawing from Dubai 1000, the pressure on her in the North American Sunshine tournaments is immense.

Besides facing tough competitors like Sabalenka and Swiatek returning, she must defend her quarterfinal points. If she falters and Wang Xinyu performs strongly again as at the Australian Open, Zheng could quickly lose her top spot and be officially replaced.

While some worry about Zheng Qinwen’s upcoming fate, they also sympathize deeply with the Merida tournament organizers.

This planned 500-level tournament, scheduled from February 21 to March 1, has already been affected by the massive withdrawal wave from Dubai, with several players announcing their pullout early. Fans and netizens jokingly say that the withdrawal wave is contagious, and the current scale of withdrawals in Merida seems quite large.

Originally, as the event following the Middle East season, many top players or stars would skip this tournament after competing in the two 1000 events to prepare for the North American Sunshine tournaments, making its timing awkward. Now, with the withdrawal wave arriving early, the organizers must be even more worried.

(Badosa posted a long statement announcing her withdrawal)

Among the players who have withdrawn so far, besides Spanish beauty Badosa, there are also Sakkari, Samsonova, Kasatkina, and Siniakova, all familiar names to fans.

Unfortunately, these withdrawing players are key stars who guarantee Merida’s tournament quality and prestige. Their absence has noticeably lowered the event’s attention and appeal.

Especially Siniakova’s withdrawal is considered by fans and netizens as possibly the biggest blow to the Merida organizers.

As one of the three popular young female players along with Iga and Jovic, Siniakova may not be as famous as the Filipino Iga, but her matches have always attracted good crowds. Last year, she reached the semifinals in Merida, so her lengthy withdrawal statement this year inevitably reduces the tournament’s buzz and topics.

(Siniakova posted a long statement announcing her withdrawal)

Now, everyone hopes this withdrawal wave will stop here. If more players continue pulling out, the tournament organizers will be in an even tougher spot.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moon River’s Starry Sky)