ITALIAN OPEN SEEDS FINALIZED WITH SABALENKA, RYBAKINA, AND GAUFF LEADING ENTRY LIST
Jasmine Paolini defends her Italian Open title against a field led by Swiatek and Sabalenka, with massive ranking points at stake.
The Italian Open is the next big stop in the WTA 1000 clay season, right after Madrid. Here, Jasmine Paolini and Coco Gauff have a lot riding on their performances – lots of ranking points at stake. Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek, though, have a little more breathing room when it comes to their points.
Madrid wrapped up recently, with Marta Kostyuk taking down Mirra Andreeva to grab her first title at this level. There’s barely been time to catch a breath, but the action picks right back up in Rome on May 5. The top seeds won’t play until the second round, which gives them a little extra rest.
Aryna Sabalenka is the No. 1 seed. Behind her, you’ve got Rybakina, Gauff, Swiatek, Pegula, Anisimova, Svitolina, Andreeva, Paolini, and Victoria Mboko rounding out the top 10. Thanks to her big win in Madrid, Kostyuk is up to a career-high No. 15. Still, since Rome’s seedings were finalised on April 20, she’ll be seeded 23rd.
Let’s talk about points and what’s at risk in Rome. The WTA ranking system looks back over the past 52 weeks; it adds the points you earn now and subtracts the ones from the same tournament a year ago, right as the new event kicks off.
Jasmine Paolini has 1,000 points to defend; she’s the reigning champion. Her ranking has dropped to No. 9, and unless she makes another deep run, she could fall out of the top 10 after Rome.
Coco Gauff is defending 650 points from last year’s runner-up finish. After Madrid, she slipped out of her No. 3 spot and could slide a bit more if she doesn’t go far in Rome.
Zheng Qinwen has 390 points on the line from her semi-final run last year, where she shocked top seed Sabalenka. Coming off a long injury, she’s still trying to get back to full strength. Dropping those points will probably push her out of the top 50.
Peyton Stearns, now ranked 50th, is in a similar spot; she made the semis last year with wins over some big names but needs points to hold her spot.
Sabalenka, Svitolina, Andreeva, and Shnaider are all defending 215 points after quarter-final runs. If Sabalenka goes out early and Rybakina has a deep run, the gap between them at the very top could shrink a lot.
Kostyuk, Osaka, Raducanu, and Ostapenko have 120 points each to defend from last year’s fourth round. Kostyuk especially has a shot to break into the top 10 with another great showing, while Raducanu needs points if she wants a seeded spot at Roland Garros.
Victoria Mboko worked her way through qualifying last year and then lost early, picking up 65 points in Rome and earning more at another event. This year, she’s already set for some points before Rome even begins.
Iga Swiatek, six-time major champ, leads Gauff by 199 points going into Rome, and once last year’s points come off, that lead jumps to 784. Swiatek lost early in Rome last year, so she’s only dropping 65 points.
Alex Eala only has 10 points to defend after a first-round exit. She’ll get those back just by playing this year, but if she wants to be seeded for the French Open, she needs a strong run.
For Elena Rybakina, it’s simple; she doesn’t lose any points from last year since the Italian Open isn’t one of her countable events this time. So Sabalenka starts Rome with a 1,340-point lead over her. But if Rybakina wins in Rome and Sabalenka loses early, that lead shrinks to just over 300 points heading into Roland Garros. Things could get interesting.
WHY DID 22 PLAYERS SUDDENLY WITHDRAW FROM THE 2026 ITALIAN OPEN MID-TOURNAMENT?
Discover the full list of injured stars, including Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, forced out of the 2026 Italian Open.
At the 2026 Italian Open, the number of players who have withdrawn or retired during matches has climbed to 22, spanning both the ATP and WTA competitions.
By midweek, 17 players had already exited the combined ATP/WTA 1000 event in Rome. Since then, an additional three men and two women have followed suit.
Before the draws were even announced on Monday, prominent names like Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Jack Draper, and Marketa Vondrousova had pulled out. On the opening day of the women’s tournament, Tuesday, Marta Kostyuk and Emma Raducanu also withdrew.
Amanda Anisimova, ranked sixth in the WTA, stepped back before her first match on Thursday due to a left wrist injury. Meanwhile, Victoria Mboko, who is ninth in the world, withdrew before playing on Friday because of a gastrointestinal illness.
Valentin Vacherot, the 16th-ranked player on the ATP tour, pulled out shortly before his scheduled second-round match against Marin Cilic on Friday, citing a foot injury.
Tomas Machac, holding the 41st spot in the men's rankings, also withdrew ahead of his second-round encounter with Daniil Medvedev after an impactful win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in round one.
Arthur Fils, ranked 17th, retired during his opening match against Andrea Pellegrino on Saturday, trailing 0-4, due to hip pain.
Here’s a rundown of the withdrawals on the ATP side: Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2) was replaced by Sebastian Ofner; Taylor Fritz (No. 7) by Zachary Svajda; Valentin Vacherot (No. 16) by Martin Landaluce; Arthur Rinderknech (No. 24) by Aleksandar Kovacevic; Holger Rune (No. 40) by Damir Dzumhur; Gabriel Diallo (No. 46) by Alexander Blockx; Jack Draper (No. 50) by Hamad Medjedovic; Raphael Collignon (No. 68) by Alexandre Muller; Reilly Opelka (No. 74) by Aleksandar Vukic; Arthur Cazaux (No. 73) by Mattia Bellucci; Kamil Majchrzak (No. 76) by Roberto Bautista Agut; and Eliot Spizzirri (No. 92) by James Duckworth.
On the WTA side, Amanda Anisimova (No. 6) was replaced by Elena Gabriela Ruse from Romania; Victoria Mboko (No. 9) by Nikola Bartunkova; Marta Kostyuk (No. 15) by Ajla Tomljanovic; Emma Raducanu (No. 30) by Lilli Tagger; Marketa Vondrousova (No. 44) by Solana Sierra; Sonay Kartal (No. 56) by Zeynep Sonmez; Varvara Gracheva (No. 61) by Eva Lys; and Veronika Kudermetova (No. 70) by Petra Marcinko.
THE "REST OVER REPS" PLAN: WHY JANNIK SINNER IS SNUBBING HALLE FOR WIMBLEDON
After 23 consecutive wins, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner adjusts his schedule to target a Career Grand Slam and Wimbledon glory.
Jannik Sinner has already logged a heavy schedule this year, with deep runs in recent Masters 1000 tournaments keeping him on court against top-tier competition regularly. Given this demanding stretch, he’s taken a fresh look at his calendar and decided to skip the Halle Open, carving out a three-week break between Roland Garros and his Wimbledon title defence.
The 2024 Wimbledon champion won’t be heading to Germany for the grass-court event. That’s notable since Sinner claimed that Wimbledon crown in impressive fashion, overcoming two-time winner Carlos Alcaraz to secure his first major title away from hardcourts. That victory was his latest Grand Slam, following Alcaraz’s wins at the previous two majors.
After Roland Garros, where he seeks to complete the career Grand Slam, Sinner plans to recharge rather than pile on more tournaments before Wimbledon. Without Alcaraz in sight, he’s considered a favourite to maintain his remarkable run. His recent haul includes titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and, most recently, Madrid. Now, he’s setting his sights on Rome, his home turf, where he’s never clinched a win but is eager to continue an ambitious streak of Masters 1000 victories, aiming for a sixth in a row.
Post-Rome, he’ll take a week off before the French Open begins. In total, Sinner has played 23 matches over the last two months without tasting defeat. If he wants to lift the Rome trophy, he’ll need to notch six more wins, then potentially battle through seven more rounds in Paris. This demanding schedule partly explains his choice to forgo Halle.
As for the 2026 Halle Open, fans might be disappointed not to see the world number one, but the field remains strong. Heading the draw is Alexander Zverev, a local favourite who has yet to claim a grass-court title or even one on home soil. With Sinner out, this could be a prime opportunity for Zverev to break through.
The American players are also well represented. The U.S. hasn’t seen a finalist here since Mardy Fish in 2004, but Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton might be poised to change that, especially Fritz, who has already shown grass prowess with titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne last year.
Defending champion Alexander Bublik, who ousted Sinner on his way to victory and took down Daniil Medvedev in the final, will be back aiming to repeat. Alongside him, names like Andrey Rublev, Flavio Cobolli, and Frances Tiafoe are also set to compete. The tournament runs from June 15 to 21, promising plenty of exciting tennis.
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