The 2016 Australian Open Semifinalist Johanna Konta of the Great Britain has withdrawn from the ongoing WTA Hong Kong Tennis Open after suffering from an abdominal strain.

The 25-year-old British tennis star currently holds the last and final qualifying slot for the upcoming season-ending WTA Finals that will be stage in Singapore form October 23 to October 30 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. However, Konta's qualifying position could still be overtaken by Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia if the current world No. 10 player makes the Linz Open final.

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"I was really looking forward to making this week last as long as possible," the British No. 1 told in a report by EuroSport. "It wasn't as long as I would have liked, but I need to look after my body first." 

"I need to make sure I make the right decisions for my health," Konta continued.

Konta was scheduled to play Chinese Wang Qiang in the second round of the tourney. Wang, who is the reigning Asian Games champion, defeated wildcard Ling Zhang of Hong Kong, China in two sets 6-2, 6-2.

Following the withdrawal, the 24-year-old native of Tianjin will automatically advance to the quarterfinal round of the competition.

Meanwhile, in the other matches of the tournament, former world No. 1 Venus Williams of the United States continued to struggle as she ended her Hong Kong campaign in another early round exit. The current world No. 14 American tennis ace lost to Alice Cornet of France, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

According to The Strait Times, the event's top seed Angelique Kerber of Germany defeated American Louisa Chirico to pass through the second round of the competition with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win. The WTA's incumbent world No. 1 singles player will be facing Daria Gavrilova of Australia in the next round. 

TagsJohanna Konta, Venus Williams, Angelique Kerber, hong kong open, wta