Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️
Today’s tennis mood: A bit befuddled but ready for action.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 In Rome: Today is the first full day of matches slated at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, with men’s and women’s main draw singles contests spread across eight courts. With top players receiving first-round byes, no seeds are in action today. But plenty of fan favorites are, including Alex Eala, Taylor Townsend, Hubert Hurkacz, and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. More on that below.
🎾 Kostyuk out: Just two days after winning the biggest title of her career in Madrid, Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk has pulled out of the Italian Open, citing a right hip injury.
What she said: “After the best stretch of my career, I was looking forward to Rome,” Kostyuk posted on social media. “But sometimes your body has other plans, and over the past few days I’ve been dealing with a hip issue. With my ankle still not fully at 100%, it’s just not smart to keep pushing right now, so I won’t be competing there this year. I’m sad to miss it, but I’ll see you next year. Now it’s time to recover and get ready for Paris.”
🎾 Another bizarre withdrawal: That belongs to Emma Raducanu, who withdrew from the Italian Open, citing post-viral illness, after holding her pre-tournament press conference just moments earlier.
What she said: “I feel great on the court. I feel like every day I’m working towards something,” Raducanu said. “The break has helped me feel really motivated coming back, very hungry and happy to be out here training and putting out great sessions every day.”
And: When asked if she had considered skipping Rome and Paris, she replied: “I think playing on the clay — getting any time on the clay for me — I’m not necessarily thinking everything for the grass. Because I know in the years to come, every time, every week that I get on the clay courts, it’s going to help me for the future and longer term.”
And, then: The announcement that she had pulled out of the tournament came about 30 minutes later.
Noteworthy: Raducanu hasn’t played since Indian Wells, pulling out of several tournaments since then. The 23-year-old Brit, who has made it clear that clay isn’t exactly her favorite surface, would surprise the tennis world if she finds her way to Paris. But don’t be shocked if she makes a recovery for the grass season.
🎾 One to watch: Caty McNally vs. Daria Kastakina (1st round - WTA 1000 - Rome): Watch this one for two players who are on a clay court winning streak.
The record: Daria Kasatkina leads the head-to-head record over Caty McNally 1-0. However, that meeting was nearly five years ago.
On the line: For both players, this is about keeping momentum going as Roland-Garros rapidly approaches.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
And that’s game.
