At the start of the season, Amanda Anisimova appeared poised for a deep run at the French Open, carrying memories of her 2019 semifinal breakthrough and renewed belief after reaching the finals at Wimbledon and the US Open. But the dream has unraveled fast: inconsistent results led to a coaching split, while a cruel wrist injury forced her out of Madrid. Now, with momentum shattered and confidence under siege, Anisimova heads toward Paris, facing a brutally difficult road.
Amanda Anisimova has withdrawn from the Italian Open due to a left wrist injury, adding another setback to her difficult clay-court season. Tournament officials confirmed the news through Twitter and released a statement regarding the American’s condition.
“Amanda Anisimova has withdrawn due to a left wrist injury. Elena Gabriela Ruse takes her place in the draw as a lucky loser. We wish Amanda a speedy recovery.” The statement also confirmed that Elena-Gabriela Ruse would replace her in the main draw.
The World No. 6 had originally been scheduled to face Jelena Ostapenko in the second round on Thursday. Instead, Ruse now steps into the matchup as the lucky loser following Anisimova’s late withdrawal.
Amanda Anisimova has withdrawn due to a left wrist injury. Elena Gabriela Ruse takes her place in the draw as a lucky loser.
We wish Amanda a speedy recovery
#IBI26
— Internazionali BNL d’Italia (@InteBNLdItalia) May 7, 2026
Anisimova suffered an early exit at last year’s Italian Open, losing in the first round. Because of that result, her latest withdrawal will not cost her any ranking points in the WTA standings.
The 24-year-old has still not played a single match during the current clay-court swing. Her struggles on the surface began in late March when she pulled out of the Charleston Open, citing an undisclosed injury she picked up during the Miami Open.
Just two weeks later, the injury concerns grew when Anisimova also withdrew from the Madrid Open because of the same wrist problem. Since then, questions around her fitness have continued to increase ahead of the French Open.
Her most recent appearances came at the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open, where she produced back-to-back runs to the R16. However, she has played very limited tennis since then as injuries continue to interrupt her momentum.
Shortly after the Miami Open, Anisimova also announced that she had mutually parted ways with her coach, Hendrik Vleeshouwers. The split marked another major change during an already turbulent phase of her season.
The reigning ‘WTA Most Improved Player’ holds an 11-6 record this season. She reached the quarterfinals of the AO in January and later made the semifinals in the Dubai Tennis Championships, but has competed in only six WTA Tour matches since then.
Anisimova’s latest withdrawal also adds to the growing list of exits from the Italian Open, as several players have recently stepped away from the Masters 1000 event.
Emma Raducanu and Marta Kostyuk also withdrew from the Italian Open
Amanda Anisimova has now become the third women’s player to withdraw from the Italian Open after the official draw was released. Recent Madrid Open champion Marta Kostyuk was among the first seeded players to step away from the tournament. The Ukrainian cited a hip injury as the reason behind her withdrawal from the clay-court event.
Meanwhile, British No. 1 Emma Raducanu also pulled out on Tuesday evening. Her withdrawal came shortly after she completed her pre-tournament media responsibilities in Rome.
The 23-year-old has reportedly been dealing with a post-viral illness. Raducanu has not played a competitive match since losing to Anisimova at the Indian Wells Open in March.
Both Kostyuk and Raducanu had entered the tournament as seeded players. Following their withdrawals, lucky losers Ajla Tomljanović and Lilli Tagger were moved into the main draw.
Despite stepping away from Rome, Raducanu is still hoping to gain some match practice before the French Open. Reports suggest she plans to request a wildcard into the Strasbourg Open in preparation for Roland Garros.
The total number of withdrawals from the 2026 Italian Open has now climbed to 17. Raducanu became one of the latest seeded stars to join an already lengthy withdrawal list across both tours.
On the ATP side, Arthur Rinderknech, currently ranked World No. 24, became the third highest-ranked men’s player to withdraw from the Rome Masters. Notably, nine of the 11 men who pulled out had already withdrawn before the official draw was announced. Lucky losers replaced both Rinderknech and Gabriel Diallo after withdrawing post-draw.
With the withdrawal list continuing to grow rapidly, attention now shifts toward how the coming days in Rome will unfold ahead of the Roland Garros.
