Tennis in the Land, the final WTA event before the US Open, has had to deal with multiple players withdrawing which has caused several matches to be canceled.

Following a few weeks of difficult schedules at the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open, and with only a week to go before the start of the US Open, several players have made the decision to withdraw from the WTA 250 Tennis in the Land tournament in Cleveland.

The defending singles champion Liudmila Samsonova was set to compete at the event again this year, but pulled out before it began. This came after she had a deep run at the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montreal two weeks ago, reaching the final and finishing as runner-up to Jessica Pegula. She was also made to play the semi-final and final matches on the same day due to rain delays.

Tennis legend Venus Williams is among those who have withdrawn from the tournament.

The 43-year-old was set to play rising teenage talent Mirra Andreeva in her opening round, but the latter is now preparing to face Tamara Korpatsch instead.

The event has also lost four of its seeded players due to withdrawals. Sixth seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto, No. 7 Mayar Sherif, eighth seed Anna Blinkova and No. 10 Irina Begu have all pulled out of the event, leaving the organizers with some major match reshuffles to do. 

On social media, some fans expressed their disappointment at the decisions to skip the tournament.

"Shame. I watched some of Fernandez-Noskova last night. The location of the tournament is actually pretty spectacular with that massive bridge next to the courts," one wrote.

However, the event still has some big names, including 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, who defeated Linda Noskova 6-0, 6-2 in the opening round. Meanwhile, top two seeds Caroline Garcia and Barbora Krejcikova are playing their first-round matches today, Monday, August 21.