Vera Zvonareva has pulled out of her home event in Moscow because of concerns about scheduling. Moscow takes place a week before the WTA year-ending championships in Doha.
World No. 3 Zvonareva is currently the highest-ranked Russian. Her withdrawal means that none of the five Russians ranked in the top 20 will play in Moscow -- Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova are also not taking part.
Petrova, who had to pull out with a foot injury, will commentate for Russian television during the tournament.
The highest-ranked Russian taking part is No. 21 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Dinara Safina, who ranking has dropped but remains a big name, is another absentee, having cut short her season with continued back problems.