Injury forces Jasmine Paolini out of Rome doubles as Roland Garros doubts emerge

The Italian Jasmine Paolini has had a 2026 far from expectations, and a foot injury makes things even more complicated for the Italian. After her defeat in the third round of the Rome Open — where she was the defending champion — this time she withdrew from the doubles alongside Sara Errani — being unable to defend the title.

According to what the tournament organisation announced, Paolini was forced to withdraw from the defence of the doubles title, where alongside Errani they were already placed in the Round of 16. Her withdrawal gives the Czech duo of Linda Noskova and Tereza Valentova a place in the quarterfinals.

“Unfortunately, I have to withdraw from doubles due to a small foot issue,” Paolini stated this afternoon. “Especially at home, in such a special tournament for me, this is never an easy decision,” she added.

With this, the Italians will lose several ranking positions and are unable to defend the Rome title, dropping to No. 7 in the doubles rankings after losing 880 of the 1,000 points they were defending. The favourites now are the No. 1 seeded pair Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, who are still waiting for their Round of 16 match.

Things continue to be complicated for Paolini in 2026, especially after a disappointing run in Rome. The task was already expected to be difficult, considering that 2025 was a dream season for Paolini, after winning her second WTA 1000 singles title by defeating Coco Gauff in the final and becoming the first Italian in 40 years to win the Rome Open.

She achieved the feat again one day later in doubles alongside her partner Errani — defeating the pair of Eilse Mertens and Veronika Kudermetova in straight sets and winning the WTA 1000 home tournament for the second consecutive year.

In 2026, without a doubt, the challenge of defending both titles already looked especially complicated, especially considering Paolini did not arrive in her best form and has not been very consistent in 2026. After overcoming a debut with complications against Leolia Jeanjean, the 9th seed fell in the third round against Elise Mertens (6–4, 6–7, 3–6).

“I think the last couple of tournaments I was playing better," she said during her press conference. "This tournament, I was feeling good. I think I have to be more, let’s say, solid on the important points, to play better those kinds of points, I’m not really happy about my results, of course."

"I think I have to try to be more positive and to look forward to the next tournaments. I think it’s getting better and feeling better, feeling more positive on court. That’s important.”

Concerns are evident ahead of Roland Garros, which starts in two weeks. The 30-year-old player only mentioned a “small injury” and should not have problems competing in the tournament, although she will start slightly further back than expected in the seedings after her ranking drop.

Paolini lost 935 of the 1,000 points she was defending and will drop five positions in the rankings down to No. 13. With this, the Italian exits the Top 10 for the first time since entering the elite group in June 2024. After two years, the two-time Grand Slam finalist will have to come from behind if she wants to be a protagonist again on the WTA Tour, considering she has an 11–10 record this season and has not won consecutive matches since early March in Indian Wells.

Back in 2025, Paolini reached the fourth round of Roland Garros, where she lost in three sets to Elina Svitolina, while alongside Errani they will be the defending champions in the main doubles draw. If Paolini does not manage to bounce back at the French Open, an early exit could put her Top 10 place at risk towards the end of the clay swing.