Jasmine Paolini had improved her form significantly at Wimbledon. Despite not being renowned as a strong grass-court player, she made a strong run to the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam, defeating players like Maria Sakkari and Alexandra Eala. Though Marta Kostyuk eventually eliminated her in the last 8, it was a campaign that the Italian could be proud of. But all the momentum that Paolini had gained at SW19 has now been halted as the start of her hard-court season has been delayed.

Paolini has confirmed that she has withdrawn from the upcoming Mubadala DC Open and the National Bank Open in Toronto. The reason behind her withdrawal is a lingering foot injury that had first flared up at the Rome Masters in May. Turns out the injury still hasn’t fully healed, and the 30-year-old wants to rest to retain full fitness.

“Unfortunately, I have decided to withdraw from Washington and Toronto so I can give my foot some extra time to rest,” she wrote on her Instagram story. “I’m sorry I won’t be there, and I wish everyone involved two amazing tournaments. Thank you, as always, for all your love and support.”

These withdrawals wouldn’t result in Paolini losing points on the rankings. This is because she hadn’t participated in the DC Open last year either and had suffered a 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 defeat to Aoi Ito in the first round of the Canadian Open. She may be eyeing a return at the Cincinnati Masters, which is a tournament where she reached the final last year.

The foot injury has already resulted in Paolini pulling out of two major doubles draws. It affected her participation in the doubles draw of both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. She had teamed up with compatriot Sara Errani at SW19, and the two were scheduled to take on Maria Kozyreva and Iryna Shymanovich in the first round. But the match never went ahead as Paolini unexpectedly pulled out.

The Italian clearly wants the injury to heal fully before she begins her hard-court season. Having finally regained her singles form at Wimbledon, she wouldn’t want the foot injury to affect her participation in even more competitions during the hard-court swing.

Paolini is one of the most high-profile withdrawals of the Masters 1000 event that will be held in Toronto from August 2. Several prominent players have already pulled out from the WTA circuit. With the tournament still being days away, many more player withdrawals can still take place.

Victoria Mboko and Emma Raducanu headline withdrawal list at Canadian Open

The biggest withdrawal from the tournament is that of defending champion Victoria Mboko. This was the tournament where the 19-year-old had made a name for herself last year. She had gone on an incredible winning spree and had lifted her first-ever WTA title in front of her home fans.

But Mboko won’t be in action this year as she is still recovering from the knee injury she had picked up at the HSBC Championships. She had suffered a nasty fall on the court during her clash against Karolina Pliskova and has been out of action ever since.

Emma Raducanu is another high-profile player to withdraw from the Canadian Open. She has still not recovered from the stress fracture in her lower right leg, an injury she had sustained on the eve of Wimbledon. The setback had also forced her to withdraw from the Grand Slam.

The finalist in Wimbledon’s women’s singles draw, Karolina Muchova, has also decided to pull out of the Canadian Open. The reason behind her withdrawal is a minor surgery that she had undergone after the final against Linda Noskova. Though the surgery went well, Muchova will need some time to recover fully.

Additionally, Carlos Alcaraz is the most notable player to withdraw from the ATP side. The Spaniard is yet to recover fully from the wrist injury that he suffered at the Barcelona Open in April. He is likely eyeing a return at the Cincinnati Masters, which will commence on August 13. He had triumphed at the Masters 1000 event last year, so missing it would result in him losing a massive number of points on the rankings.