Injured Konta pulls out of Hong Kong Open
British number one Johanna Konta has pulled out of next week’s Hong Kong Open with a foot injury, but hopes to return in Moscow the following week.
Konta, 26, currently holds the eighth and final qualifying position for this month’s season-ending WTA Finals.
Losing to Monica Niculescu in this week’s China Open took her losing streak to five matches and opened the door for other players to overtake her.
Her Finals place could be sealed depending on results at the China Open.
She was beaten by Romania’s world number 65 Niculescu in her opening match in Beijing on Sunday, continuing a winless run that will now extend to at least eight weeks.
The world number seven described herself as “very disappointed” after a left-foot injury forced her to pull out of Hong Kong.
The WTA Finals get under way in Singapore on 22 October, and Konta might still need to earn points in Moscow the week before to secure her place.
She missed out on qualifying for the first time on the last day of the regular season in 2016.