The 2026 North American hard-court swing kicks off in Washington later this month, but the Mubadala Citi DC Open is already dealing with a significant shakeup. Five players have withdrawn from the WTA 500 event at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, which runs from July 27 through August 2, and several of them were expected to be seeded.
Jasmine Paolini, Marta Kostyuk, and Iva Jovic, originally projected to be the fifth, third, and sixth seeds respectively, have all pulled out. Katerina Siniakova and Jaqueline Cristian round out the five departures. That is a painful blow for a draw that initially had eight top-20 players on the entry list.
Paolini was the most forthcoming about her reasons, posting on Instagram that a foot injury forced her to step away from both Washington and the WTA 1000 event in Toronto. The Italian said she needed extra rest for the foot and wished both tournaments well. It is a frustrating moment for Paolini, who reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals earlier this month and has two Grand Slam final appearances to her name.
Despite the losses, the revised draw still carries considerable star power. Jessica Pegula slots in as the top seed, with Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka, Diana Shnaider, Anna Kalinskaya, Madison Keys, defending champion Leylah Fernandez, and Emma Navarro rounding out the top eight. Fernandez won the title in Washington last year, defeating Anna Kalinskaya in the final.
The replacement players stepping into the draw include Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Katie Boulter, Magdalena Frech, Magda Linette, and Sara Bejlek. TennisDraw users updating their bracket picks will want to account for this reshuffled field before the action begins.
