Lee Zii Jia's 2022 season came to an end as the Malaysian crashed out in the Australian Open second round after a 22-20, 15-21, 16-21 defeat to China's Lu Guangzu on Thursday.
Lee, seeded first in this Sydney meet, needed to reach at least the semi-finals in order to qualify for the World Tour Finals in Bangkok next month.
But the shuttler looked far from his best against Lu, who occupied the final automatic berth to the season finale.
Despite taking the first game, Lee was full of errors and his day was made more miserable as he required treatment on his right finger midway through the second game.
Lu sealed that game 21-16 to force a decider, which Lee seemed to struggle as the match wore on.
That right finger once again required treatment, and it clearly affected him further as unforced errors continued to pile up.
The world number two eventually surrendered after 70 minutes to mark the end of his 2022 season.
Soong Joo Ven also followed Lee out the door after losing to Indonesian qualifier Ikhsan Leonardo 21-15, 18-21, 12-21.
Ng Tze Yong, meanwhile, kept the national flag in the men's singles flying with a resilient 21-16, 19-21, 21-5 over South Korea's Heo Kwang Hee.
Ng should fancy his chances against Australian Nathan Tang in the last eight.
Goh Jin Wei was also impressive in the women's singles after she downed Anwesha Gowda 21-7, 21-13 and next plays third seeded Pornpawee Chochuwong for a place in the semi-finals next.
Teo Ee Yi-Ong Yew Sin, also through in the men's doubles after a straight-game victory over their Australian opponents, next took on South Korean pair Kang Min-hyuk-Seo Seung-jae for a place in the last four.
