Double blow: Amanda Anisimova withdraws from Madrid Open due to wrist injury as Ekaterina Alexandrova also pulls out

The WTA Madrid Open has commenced with the best players in the world eyeing up the chance for a huge title to add to their collection. However, there has been a number of withdrawals on both the men's and women's side which has taken the spotlight. The latest names to withdraw have been Ekaterina Alexandrova, and most notably Amanda Anisimova with a wrist injury.

The American has had a torrid 2026. She is yet to get any momentum on court and has been barred from deep runs with disappointing results becoming a more regular theme. She reached two Grand Slam finals in 2025 along with winning a brace of WTA 1000 titles. This saw her reach the WTA Finals for the first time in her career. A huge turnaround after it had seemed that the potential showcased as a youngster was never going to be fully unlocked.

She has not stepped onto the court since the end of a frustrating Sunshine swing. Anisimova split with her long term coach, Rick Vleeshouwers, due to this barren spell on the court before pulling out of the Charleston Open amid injury problems.

The start to her clay swing was delayed tactically as she looked to get into the best condition she possibly could to challenge for titles. The Madrid Open was the target, looking to make a statement of intent at the third WTA 1000 tournament of the year and first on clay in 2026. However, this will not be the case with her wrist not healing to the extent she would have wanted. Magdalena Frech will take her place in the main draw.

The former world number 10 has also struggled for form badly this year. Similar to Anisimova, Alexandrova pulled out of the Charleston Open after a disappointing Sunshine swing. She cited a lower back injury as the cause.

She returned to the action in Linz and Stuttgart, picking up just one win from those tournaments. It seems that she is not in the best condition to compete, pulling out of the tournament in the Spanish capital with the motive to get better ahead of tournaments in Rome and Paris coming shortly up.

These two names join the likes of Emma Raducanu, Sonay Kartal, Maya Joint, Emma Navarro and Marketa Vondroussova as players who will not feature in the Madrid Open.