Jasmine Paolini has pulled out of the Cincinnati Open, extending a disrupted summer on the WTA tour as the Italian sets her sights on the US Open and the closing stretch of the season.
Paolini confirmed the news on Instagram, writing that she and her team had decided she would not play in Cincinnati either, after she had already withdrawn from Washington and Toronto because of a foot injury. She admitted she could not wait to return after reaching the final 12 months ago, but that the priority now is to be fully ready for the year's final Grand Slam.
The decision is costly in ranking terms. Paolini was runner-up in Cincinnati in 2025, and by skipping the tournament she forfeits the 650 points she earned from that run. She is projected to drop out of the world's top 20 for the first time in two and a half years, with the live rankings placing her around No. 21.
It has been a frustrating 2026 for the 30-year-old, who reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals last month but has otherwise collected far more losses than her standards allow. A persistent foot problem has limited her schedule and forced her out of three hard-court events in the past fortnight alone, raising questions about her preparation for the American swing.
Now everything points to New York. Paolini's team hopes the injury will finally give her some peace so she can practise with continuity ahead of the US Open, where she will try to recapture the form that carried her to the Roland Garros and Wimbledon finals in 2024. The closing weeks of the WTA calendar, including the year-end events, are also in her sights.
For a player who has spent two and a half years inside the top 20 and reached two Grand Slam finals, the drop outside the elite group stings. But Paolini has built her career on responding to setbacks, and a healthy, focused run in New York would quickly rewrite the narrative of an otherwise difficult season.
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