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Svitolina Wins Third Italian Open, Beats Gauff

5/17/2026

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Summary

Svitolina Wins Rome

Elina Svitolina captured her third Italian Open title by beating Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 in Rome on Saturday.
The win gave Svitolina her first WTA 1000 victory since 2018 and her 20th career title.
Svitolina broke Gauff’s serve twice in the final set and secured the match on her third match point volley.
Gauff said the loss taught her lessons and provided momentum heading into the French Open.

Summary

Svitolina Claims Rome

Elina Svitolina earned €1,055,285 (£920,419) for winning the Italian Open.
The tournament’s prize pool increased to €7,149,403 (£6,235,882) this year.
Her 1,000 points moved her to seventh in the WTA rankings with 4,315 points.
At 31, Elina Svitolina became only the second player over 30 to win Rome and saw her race total rise to 3,110 points, placing her third behind Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.

Summary

Sinner Semi-Win

Jannik Sinner won his semi-final over Daniil Medvedev in under 20 minutes after a 4-2 third-set lead, despite thigh treatment and vomiting.
After the interruption Sinner joked and played football with his coaches during the warm-up.
Casper Ruud beat Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-1 to reach the final, recalling last year’s 6-0, 6-1 loss.
Coco Gauff’s serve was 79 % with one double fault, converting only three of 17 break points.

History

Historical Context

The Italian Open, founded in 1930 and relocated to Rome’s Foro Italico in 1935, became open to professionals in 1969 and merged its men’s and women’s events in 2011 as a ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tournament. Conchita Martínez captured the women’s title in 1995, defeating Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, while in 2024 Iga Swiatek won the singles crown, illustrating the event’s prestige across generations.

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Svitolina Wins Rome

Elina Svitolina captured her third Italian Open title by beating Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 in Rome on Saturday.
The win gave Svitolina her first WTA 1000 victory since 2018 and her 20th career title.
Svitolina broke Gauff’s serve twice in the final set and secured the match on her third match point volley.
Gauff said the loss taught her lessons and provided momentum heading into the French Open.

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