The 2026 grass-court campaign for Amanda Anisimova has taken an unexpected turn, with momentum slipping away at a crucial stage of the season. Many expected the American to mount a deep run at the HSBC Championships before a surprising QF defeat halted her charge. Now, another setback has emerged with her withdrawal from the Berlin Open, a twist that hands fellow American Coco Gauff a potentially significant advantage ahead of the WTA 500 tournament.

Anisimova’s withdrawal from the Berlin Open was officially confirmed on Sunday. As a result of the 24-year-old’s exit, fellow American Coco Gauff moved up in the seedings and took over her place in the draw. 

Gauff will now receive a bye into the 2nd round of the tournament where she is set to face Daria Snigur in her opening match.

The reshuffle did not stop there. This year’s French Open semifinalist Diana Shnaider inherited Gauff’s previous seeding position and now enters the event as the 9th seed. Shnaider is scheduled to begin her campaign against Nikola Bartunkova.

And for the former SW19 finalist, the withdrawal comes during a difficult stretch in her season. She had opened her grass-court campaign at the Queen’s Club Championships.

However, her run ended in the QF, which was only her second match at the tournament. The American was defeated by 18-year-old fellow countrywoman Iva Jovic in a surprising result.

That loss added to a series of disappointing outcomes for Amanda Anisimova this year. So far in this season, Anisimova has managed just one victory against a top 10 opponent.

Her defeat at the HSBC Championships also carried ranking consequences. The American surrendered 217 WTA ranking points and subsequently dropped one place to world No. 6.

The situation has become even more complicated following her withdrawal from the German tournament. Last year, Anisimova reached the QF of the event after defeating the Canadian Bianca Andreescu and Magdalena Frech along the way.

Because she will not compete in this year’s edition, Anisimova is set to lose an additional 108 ranking points. That loss only increases the pressure ahead of The Championships.

Sadly, Amanda Anisimova is now on course to lose almost all of her grass-court ranking points before the SW19 begins. This is particularly concerning because she reached last year’s All-England Club final, where she finished runner-up to Iga Swiatek and collected 1,300 WTA ranking points. 

With the majority of those points needing to be defended this year, Amanda risks a significant drop in the rankings if she cannot replicate that success. 

Furthermore, the 24-year-old American is not the only notable player to withdraw from the WTA event, as several big names have already bid farewell to this year’s Berlin Open.

Victoria Mboko and Belinda Bencic also withdrew from the Berlin Open

Alongside the American, the Canadian Victoria Mboko has also been forced to withdraw from the tournament. The 19-year-old suffered a serious knee injury following a fall at the HSBC Championships in London.

The injury proved significant enough to end her grass-court campaign prematurely. It has also resulted in Mboko withdrawing from The Championships later this month.

Tokyo Olympics winner Belinda Bencic is another notable absentee from the Berlin event. The current world No. 11 is battling both a right ankle injury and a left-knee issue. As a result, she has decided against competing in Berlin.

Italian Jasmine Paolini and 36-year-old Romanian Sorana Cirstea have also pulled out of the tournament. Their withdrawals have led to several adjustments in the main draw as Elise Mertens has replaced Bencic, while Anna Kalinskaya has taken Paolini’s place.

Meanwhile, 24-year-old Wang Xinyu has earned a spot in the main draw as Cirstea’s replacement. 

Despite the growing list of withdrawals from the WTA 500 event, the competition will still feature an impressive lineup of players. The current world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka headlines the field and is set to face either Ekaterina Alexandrova or Anastasia Potapova in the 2nd round.

Second seed Elena Rybakina will begin her campaign against either the current Queens Club champion Donna Vekic or Alex Eala. 

And while several marquee names have unfortunately stepped away from this year’s event, fans will now be hoping those sidelined players other than Mboko can recover in time and arrive at SW19 ready to compete at full strength on tennis’ biggest stage.