Amanda Anisimova out of Madrid Open in worrying – Sports News
Amanda Anisimova’s troubled begin to 2026 has taken one other troublesome flip.
The world No. 6 has withdrawn from the Mutua Madrid Open with a wrist damage, her second consecutive event withdrawal and a development that raises real considerations about her preparation for Roland-Garros with the clay season now totally underway.
Anisimova has not performed a match since a fourth-round loss to Belinda Bencic on the Miami Open final month. She had already pulled out of the Charleston occasion earlier than Madrid, and regardless of being noticed in the Spanish capital for the Laureus World Sports Awards, the place she was nominated for Comeback of the Year earlier than shedding out to Rory McIlroy, she has now confirmed she won’t compete on the WTA 1000 occasion. It comes after Anisimova brutally shut down a reporter on the Australian Open as a consequence of a political query.
Her subsequent potential look on tour can be on the Italian Open in Rome, leaving her with only one probability for clay-court matches earlier than the French Open.
The timing is especially regarding given the place Anisimova stands in the sport. Last yr she was one of the game’s most compelling tales, reaching the finals of each Wimbledon and the US Open and cracking the highest 5 in the rankings for the primary time in her profession.
She arrived in 2026 with real expectations of going additional, of contending for main titles, not simply reaching finals. A quarterfinal on the Australian Open in January confirmed the sport was there, however since then the momentum has stalled badly.
The wrist damage provides to the problems she was already navigating. During her absence from the tour, Anisimova additionally parted methods with coach Hendrick Vleeshouwers, leaving her with out a confirmed alternative heading into what must be probably the most vital stretch of the European clay season.
Magdalena Frech has been upgraded into a seeded place in the Madrid draw to interchange Anisimova, with a fortunate loser taking her authentic spot in the bracket. Ekaterina Alexandrova, the No. 12 seed, additionally withdrew from the event as a consequence of a decrease back damage, with Maria Sakkari stepping in as her alternative.
The withdrawal record for Madrid has grown into one thing resembling an damage report for your complete tour. Anisimova and Alexandrova are amongst 13 gamers to drag out of the ladies’s singles draw. Emma Raducanu has not performed since her Indian Wells loss to Anisimova and continues to get better from a viral sickness.
Karolina Muchova withdrew after reaching the Stuttgart remaining, and Barbora Krejcikova and Marketa Vondrousova are additionally absent. France’s Varvara Gracheva will miss your complete clay season after tearing her ACL in observe on the finish of March, whereas Great Britain’s Sonay Kartal may also miss the total clay swing as a consequence of a back damage.
The males’s draw has been equally affected, with Carlos Alcaraz, who can also be coping with a wrist downside, Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper amongst ten withdrawals on that aspect of the draw.
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