Zheng Qinwen to miss Japan Open with continued shoulder injury

Zheng Qinwen will miss next week's WTA 250 Kinoshita Group Japan Open in Osaka, citing a continued shoulder injury.

It's the second consecutive withdrawal for Zheng, after pulling out of Wuhan earlier this week. 

Zheng's withdrawals come on the heels of her milestone title in Beijing, where she became the first Chinese woman to win the China Open. In the main draw as a wild card, she won four consecutive three-setters before upsetting Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, Elise Mertens in the semifinals and Mirra Andreeva in the final. 

She spent 15 hours and 16 minutes on court during her seven matches in Beijing. That's the most time spent on court by any player at any tournament this year, and the most since Opta began tracking total time spent on court in 2023. 

It was Zheng's first career WTA 1000 title, and her first WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz title since 2024.

"Since returning from injury, I have played a demanding stretch of tennis over the past month and a half, competing at the US Open, the Billie Jean King Cup and the China Open," Zheng said in a statement after withdrawing from Wuhan. "My body is feeling very fatigued after this intense run of matches."

Since the start of the US Open, where Zheng reached the quarterfinals as a qualifier, she has won 14 of her last 15 matches, with the lone loss coming to World No. 1 Elena Rybakina. Nine of those 15 matches went to three sets.

Zheng came into the US Open ranked No. 121 in the PIF WTA Rankings, and in less than two months she's risen 98 spots, to No. 23.

World No. 68 Ashlyn Krueger has moved into the main draw in Zheng's absence.

Zheng is still scheduled to play the WTA 250 Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open next month, one of the final two tournaments on the calendar before the WTA Finals at Indian Wells.

The Kinoshita Group Japan Open will begin on Oct. 19 and run through Oct. 25.