Two More Withdrawals in Rome: Thompson and Alexandrova Pull Out Due to Injury

After the withdrawals of Paula Badosa, Petra Kvitova, and Karolina Muchova earlier on Thursday, the Rome tournament has confirmed the absence of two more players in recent hours, affecting both the ATP and WTA draws.

In the men's draw, Jordan Thompson withdrew before his second-round match against Brandon Nakashima. On the women's side, Ekaterina Alexandrova was forced to pull out ahead of her match against Emma Raducanu.

The Australian, who narrowly escaped defeat in the first round against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (3-6, 6-3, 7-6), is suffering from a back injury and will not be able to take the court this Friday: "I wasn’t sure if I could play here, but I tried. My body might not thank me tomorrow," explained Thompson, who hands Nakashima a walkover into the third round without having to play a single match.

Meanwhile, the Russian, ranked 20th in the world, was set to face Raducanu for the third time this season in the second round. However, a right shoulder injury has ruled her out of the tournament just days before Roland Garros. The Brit will now play against Swiss lucky loser Jil Teichmann, who is ranked 94th in the WTA rankings.