Marta Kostyuk has withdrawn from the Italian Open, the Ukrainian rising star announced on Instagram on Tuesday, citing a hip problem and an ankle that is “still not fully at 100 per cent.” The decision ends her bid to follow up last week’s breakthrough Madrid Open triumph with back-to-back WTA 1000 titles and raises fresh questions about her preparation for the clay-court Grand Slam season.
“This one hurts,” Kostyuk wrote. “After the best stretch of my career, I was looking forward to Rome. 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 per cent, it’s just not smart to keep pushing right now, so I won’t be competing there this year.” The 23-year-old added that Rome is “such a special place” to her — praising its fans, atmosphere and food — and pledged to return next year. “Now it’s time to recover and get ready for Paris,” she concluded.
Kostyuk’s withdrawal comes days after she captured the biggest title of her career in Madrid, beating Mirra Andreeva in the final and rising to a career-high world No. 15. The victory in Spain was followed by an emotional Instagram post in which she described the triumph as a “dream come true.” That momentum made her planned Rome appearance highly anticipated, not least because Kostyuk reached the Italian Open fourth round last year, recording wins over Alexandra Eala, Daria Kasatkina and Leylah Fernandez before falling to top seed Aryna Sabalenka.
By skipping the Foro Italico, Kostyuk will forfeit the 215 ranking points she was defending from her fourth-round run in 2023, a subtraction that could see her slip down the standings depending on how rivals perform in Rome. At present she remains ahead of Naomi Osaka in the WTA rankings, but the gap may narrow if contenders make deep runs in the Italian capital.
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Kostyuk’s statement also appears to clarify her immediate tournament plans. At her Madrid press conference she had mentioned the Strasbourg Open — which runs May 17–23 — as a possible stop before Roland Garros, but her Instagram message singled out Paris as the next target. The French Open begins at Roland Garros on May 24 and runs through June 7; with less than three weeks between Rome’s conclusion and the start of the Grand Slam, players typically weigh match practice against the risk of aggravating niggles.
Her decision echoes recent high-profile choices by other top players to prioritise long-term health over short-term gains during the clay swing. In some cases this has included withdrawing from significant lead-up events to focus on recovery for Roland Garros. Kostyuk’s team will now shift to rehabilitation and monitoring to ensure she arrives in Paris in the best possible condition.
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For the Italian Open field, Kostyuk’s absence removes a dangerous in-form contender and slightly reshuffles seeding dynamics. The tournament will proceed without the Ukrainian, who made a rapid ascent this spring, and her fans will be left waiting to see if she can convert her Madrid form into a deep run at Roland Garros.
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