The former No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska says players are getting fatigued from their heavy playing schedule, and she recently had to deal with a virus, losing early in Tokyo and Wuhan.
"After the virus, playing three matches in a row in these conditions is something that I didn't really handle great,” said Radwanska, who lost against the Australian Ashleigh Barty in Wuhan.
“Some of the girls are tired. Obviously it's the end of the season. Nobody's a machine, you can just be exhausted after a couple of months playing tennis. These things happen.”
The 28-year-old is currently ranked No. 13 and cannot qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore. In 2016, Radwanska won Beijing, which helped her reach the WTA Finals. She could, however, drop in the rankings further if she does not defend her points.
But Radwanska has plenty of company this week. Other than Jelena Ostapenko, all the Top 16 seeds have exited Wuhan, and only three got as far as the quarterfinal.