Jasmine Paolini will not begin her North American hard-court swing as planned, the two-time Grand Slam finalist confirming her withdrawal from the next two tournaments on her schedule. The Italian announced on Monday that she will skip both the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington and the National Bank Open in Toronto.
She cited the foot injury that has followed her for much of a difficult 2026, choosing to protect the joint rather than rush back onto a hard court. “I’m sorry not to be there, and I wish all the participants two fantastic tournaments,” Paolini said in a message to her social media followers.
The withdrawal strips two significant events of one of the sport’s biggest draws. The Washington tournament, the only combined ATP and WTA 500 on the calendar, begins on 27 July. The Canadian Open, a WTA 1000 held this year in Toronto, starts on 2 August. Paolini had been projected as the No. 14 seed for the Toronto draw before she made her decision.
The problem is not new. Paolini first showed signs of trouble at the Italian Open in Rome in May, where strapping around her lower left leg was visible and she pulled out of the doubles draw alongside partner Sara Errani. The issue lingered through the clay season and into the grass, forcing her out of the doubles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, as well as her scheduled appearance at the WTA 500 in Berlin.
Through all of it, she kept playing singles. That produced the brightest moment of her year at Wimbledon, where she reached the quarterfinals before losing to Marta Kostyuk. It was a rare high point in a campaign that has otherwise frustrated her. Paolini has not won a title in 2026 and has reached just one final, in doubles with Errani at the Miami Open. She slipped out of the top 10 at the end of May and now sits at No. 15 in the world.
It is a steep contrast with 2024, the season that made her a household name, when Paolini reached the finals at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon and won Olympic doubles gold in Paris with Errani. The past 18 months have been a harder road, and the foot has become the defining obstacle of it.
The timing matters because of what comes next. The North American swing is the final stretch of preparation before the US Open, which begins on 30 August. By skipping Washington and Toronto, Paolini leaves herself with a compressed run-in and almost no competitive tennis on the surface before the year’s last Grand Slam.
Her comeback is expected to come at the Cincinnati Open, where she enjoyed one of the best weeks of her career last season by reaching the final. That result also leaves her with a large block of ranking points to defend in Ohio. Protecting them, and arriving at Flushing Meadows with her foot sound, appears to be the priority behind the current pause.
There is at least some comfort in the ranking maths. Paolini did not play Washington last year and lost in the second round in Toronto, so the points she forfeits by sitting out are modest. Barring dramatic results elsewhere, she should hold her place inside the top 20.
Paolini is not the only leading name missing from the North American hard-court events. The women’s draws in particular have been hit hard. Defending Toronto champion Victoria Mboko is out as she recovers from an ankle injury. Karolina Muchova, a Wimbledon finalist this year, faces a short spell on the sidelines after a minor procedure. Emma Raducanu and Hailey Baptiste have also withdrawn from the Canadian Open, while the men’s field is without Carlos Alcaraz, who has not competed since injuring his wrist in April.
For Paolini, the wider picture is about managing a body that has not cooperated all year rather than any single tournament. A foot injury is unforgiving, and repeated attempts to play through it have already cost her doubles titles she was defending. The clear signal from her camp is that she would rather lose two events now than risk the one that matters most.
Whether the extra rest delivers a healthier player in New York is the question that will shape the rest of her season. For now, the North American swing goes on without one of its most popular competitors.
