The start of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome has been jolted by a pair of high-profile departures even before the first ball was struck in earnest. Madrid champion Marta Kostyuk and former US Open winner Emma Raducanu have both pulled out of the Italian Open, thinning the field at the Foro Italico and shifting the spotlight onto the players who remain. This week, ‘italian open,’ ‘jelena ostapenko,’ and ‘magda linette’ have all spiked in online searches as tennis fans scrambled for updates on the withdrawals and the upcoming matches.
Kostyuk’s withdrawal was not entirely unexpected. The Ukrainian has been battling physical issues after a grueling and triumphant spring that saw her lift back-to-back titles in Madrid and Rouen. In a statement addressing her decision, Kostyuk cited the need to recover and avoid aggravating the problems. Her exit robs Rome of one of the tournament’s in-form competitors and a player many had circled as a dangerous floater in the draw. Raducanu’s withdrawal, while less detailed publicly, further depletes the star power. Neither player’s absence, however, lessens the fierce competition on the red clay.
What that means for the early rounds is more oxygen for others to seize the moment. On Wednesday, all eyes will be on Jelena Ostapenko as she takes on Italian wildcard Lucrezia Stefanini. Ostapenko, the former Roland Garros champion, knows well how to use a clay court’s slower bounces to set up her fearsome forehand. Her match, part of the Day 2 slate, pits her heavy-hitting game against a local hope who will feed off the Roman crowd. At first glance, Ostapenko’s experience should be decisive, but Stefanini’s craft and home support make this a tricky opener for the Latvian. The Italian Open rarely offers soft landings.
For Magda Linette, the tournament represents a clean opportunity to build on a steady but unspectacular season. The Pole faces Germany’s Tatjana Maria in a first-round clash that has drawn keen interest back home—so much so that Polish broadcasters are rolling out live coverage and local sportsbooks have attached special promotions to a Linette victory. Maria, a wily veteran with a slicing game that disrupts rhythm, will test Linette’s patience. On clay, Maria’s defense can be maddening, but Linette’s cleaner baseline strokes should dictate if she stays focused. Still, this is a matchup that feels more like a mental battle than a pure shot-making contest, and whoever finds traction early will likely grind out the win.
Beyond the individual storylines, the sudden withdrawals have opened up a quarter of the draw that might have been Kostyuk’s. That space now invites a lower-ranked player to make a surprise run, a classic Italian Open plotline where the slower courts reward resilience over rank. Ostapenko, for all her unpredictability, could be that player if she finds her range. Linette, too, will look at the empty lanes and sense an opportunity to better her previous Rome showings. The bigger issue is how the tournament absorbs losing two draws of her caliber. The answer will take shape over the next days, but for now, the Foro Italico hums with a strange mixture of disappointment and renewed possibility.
That may be the lasting image of this Italian Open’s opening chapter: a champion walking away before the curtain rises, and the ones left behind stepping into harsher light, ready or not.