Amanda Anisimova leads six withdrawals as Berlin Ladies Open suffers late on

Monday, 15 June 2026 at 02:00

Berlin Ladies Open on paper this next week starting on Monday 15 June was one of the most stacked WTA 500 tournaments in a long time. But it has suffered the unfortunate fate that many top names have decided late on to not be involved albeit some are for reasons that are to be expected.

Amanda Anisimova is the biggest name. She lost to Iva Jovic at Queen's and has been suffering from a wrist issue for some time. The American was due to be seeded fourth at the WTA 500 tournament and found herself in the bottom half of the draw with a bye into the second round before a meeting with either a qualifier or Paula Badosa.

But Anisimova's withdrawal was confirmed on Sunday with her spot in the draw going to Coco Gauff who shifts directly ahead in the seeds and replaces her. Gauff now has a bye into the second round and faces the winner of that Badosa match.

Gauff's spot in turn goes to Roland Garros semi-finalist Diana Shnaider who is now seed ninth with her opening match against Nikola Bartunkova while a lucky loser as a direct effect of all of this heads into the main draw. Nine out of the top 10 players in the WTA Rankings were due to play the event, but Mirra Andreeva withdrew with the World No.5 taking the typical time off after winning a Grand Slam.

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“My team and I have decided to take more time to rest, recover and better prepare for grass,” Andreeva said in a statement after the announcement. “I’ll miss the time in Berlin. Hope to be back next year!”

Mboko out after horror injury

Victoria Mboko joins her out of the tournament albeit this is due to injury and she won't play Wimbledon either. She suffered a serious knee injury during a fall at Queen's. Shnaider gained a spot in the main draw after Andreeva withdrew while Anastasia Potapova replaced Mboko.

Belinda Bencic is also out as she is suffering with a right ankle injury, as well as a left knee problem. Jasmine Paolini and Sorana Cirstea are also out of the tournament. Elise Mertens has replaced Bencic in the draw, Anna Kalinskaya took Paolini's place while Wang Xinyu took Cirstea's. Aryna Sabalenka still headlines the field.

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

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