WTA Italian Open 2026 Entry List, Draw Date: Sabalenka leads Rybakina, Gauff, Swiatek; will Raducanu play?
The second leg of the WTA clay swing triple header takes place in Rome with the Italian Open sandwiched in between the Madrid Open and the French Open.
There were glorious scenes at Foro Italico last year when Jasmine Paolini defeated Coco Gauff in the final to give Italy their first home winner in the Open since Raffaella Reggi lifted the trophy in 1985.
And Paolini will return to defend her title, but she will only be seeded ninth with world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka headlining the draw.
Besides Paolini, four other former winners will be in the main draw with Iga Swiatek winning the title in 2021, 2022 and 2024, Elena Rybakina was crowned champion in 2023, Karolina Pliskova won in 2019 and Elina Svitolina won back-to-back trophies in 2017 and 2018.
How many players will feature at the Italian Open?
The WTA 1000 tournament at Foro Italico is a 96-player singles draw event and the top 32 players in the draw are seeded and earn a bye into the second round.
The seedings are based on the WTA Rankings of 20 April and world No 1 Sabalenka leads the way and Rybakina, Gauff, Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova, Svitolina, Mirra Andreeva and Victoria Mboko complete the top 10.
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Having dropped out of the top 40, Filipina youngster Alex Eala will not be seeded, but she has a chance to climb up the rankings as she lost in the first round last year.
Eight players have earned wildcard entries with all of them from the host nation Italy, one player – Pliskova – used her protected ranking to enter the main draw, 12 will come through qualifying and 75 players gain entry via their ranking.
Any high-profile withdrawals?
So far, only three players have officially withdrawn from the tournament and they are world No 55 Sonay Kartal, No 60 Varvara Gracheva and No 64 Veronika Kudermetova.
Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova will also miss the tournament as she has been provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
There are also question marks over a host of players as the likes of Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek struggled with illness during the tournament, while Madison Keys also pulled out ahead of her first match as she was also unwell.
Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu has not played since the Indian Wells Open in March and has yet to confirm if she has recovered from her viral infection.
What are the key dates and when will the draw take place?
The Italian Open main draw is set for 3 May with the women’s singles competition starting on 5 May with the final set for Saturday 16 May on Stadio Centrale.
2026 Italian Open Entry List
Seeds
1. Aryna Sabalenka
2. Elena Rybakina
3. Coco Gauff
4. Iga Swiatek
5. Jessica Pegula
6. Amanda Anisimova
7. Elina Svitolina
8. Mirra Andreeva
9. Jasmine Paolini
10. Victoria Mboko
11. Karolina Muchova
12. Belinda Bencic
13. Linda Noskova
14. Ekaterina Alexandrova
15. Naomi Osaka
16. Iva Jovic
17. Madison Keys
18. Clara Tauson
19. Diana Shnaider
20. Liudmila Samsonova
21. Elise Mertens
22. Anna Kalinskaya
23. Marta Kostyuk
24. Marie Bouzkova
25. Leylah Fernandez
26. Sorana Cirstea
27. Emma Raducanu
28. Emma Navarro
29. Maya Joint
30. Cristina Bucsa
31. Wang Xinyu
32. Hailey Baptiste
Other entries
Jaqueline Cristian
Ann Li
Sara Bejlek
Qinwen Zheng
Maria Sakkari
Magdalena Frech
Janice Tjen
Jelena Ostapenko
Elisabetta Cocciaretto
Katerina Siniakova
Peyton Stearns
Alexandra Eala
Lois Boisson
Laura Siegemund
Mccartney Kessler
Dayana Yastremska
Jessica Bouzas Maneiro
Tereza Valentova
Barbora Krejcikova
Yulia Starodubtseva
Tatjana Maria
Anastasia Potapova
Magda Linette
Talia Gibson
Antonia Ruzic
Katie Boulter
Elsa Jacquemot
Anna Bondar
Shuai Zhang
Anastasia Zakharova
Sofia Kenin
Beatriz Haddad Maia
Oleksandra Oliynykova
Caty McNally
Daria Kasatkina
Panna Udvardy
Kamilla Rakhimova
Oksana Selekhmeteva
Yulia Putintseva
Eva Lys
Zeynep Sonmez
Petra Marcinko
Solana Sierra
Wildcards
Nuria Brancaccio
Lucia Bronzetti
Tyra Caterina Grant
Lisa Pigato
Jennifer Ruggeri
Lucrezia Stefanini
Martina Trevisan
Wildcard
Protected Ranking
Karolina Pliskova
Twelve Qualifiers
