Italian Open star withdraws hours before her opening match

The Italian Open has suffered yet another late withdrawal, with No. 10 seed Victoria Mboko pulling out of the tournament just hours ahead of her first-round match on Friday. The Canadian competitor was scheduled to face Italian wildcard Tyra Grant in the third match on the BNP Paribas Arena Friday afternoon, but has stepped aside due to a gastrointestinal illness.

The world No. 9 becomes the sixth player to withdraw following the draw last weekend. Marta Kostyuk was among the first to exit, pulling out with a right hip injury shortly after claiming victory at the Madrid Open last week.

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Emma Raducanu announced her withdrawal on Tuesday afternoon — less than an hour after wrapping up her pre-tournament media obligations and telling reporters she had turned a corner. Britain's No. 1 cited the post-viral illness that has sidelined her for the past two months, reports The Express UK.

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Mboko had earned a bye directly into the second round as one of the tournament's top seeds. Lucky loser Nikola Bartunkova has stepped in as her replacement, slotting into the draw to face Grant on Friday afternoon.

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The Italian Tennis Federation announced the change in opponent, stating: "No challenge against the seeded player Mboko: Grant's opponent in the second round will be Nikola Bartunkova, defeated in 3 sets by [Anastasia] Potapova in the qualifiers."

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No. 6 seed Amanda Anisimova also withdrew just hours before her opening match on Thursday. She had been slated to face Jelena Ostapenko but stepped back due to a persistent left wrist injury.

On the men's draw, 22nd seed Arthur Rinderknech withdrew due to a left calf injury, with Aleksandar Kovacevic stepping in as his replacement.

Thursday evening brought another withdrawal when Rinderknech's cousin, No. 14 seed Valentin Vacherot, also pulled out.

Spanish lucky loser Martin Landaluce filled his spot in the tournament.

Vacherot attributed his departure to a foot injury, posting a statement to his Instagram account Friday morning. "Ciao Roma!" he wrote.

"So sad not to play this beautiful tournament this year... Picked up an injury in Madrid and season is too long to take any risks. See you really soon on courts."

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