Elina Svitolina wins Italian Open

Elina Svitolina beat Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 in the Italian Open final on Saturday, May 16, at Foro Italico in Rome, ending an eight-year wait for another title at the event. The Ukrainian won the tournament for the third time after previous victories in 2017 and 2018, according to the WTA and Associated Press. The match lasted 2 hours and 49 minutes and gave Svitolina her 20th career singles title and first WTA 1000 crown since Rome in 2018. Coco Gauff, the No. 3 seed, lost in the Rome final for the second straight year after finishing runner-up to Jasmine Paolini in 2025, the WTA preview said. Saturday’s result also extended Svitolina’s winning streak over Gauff to three matches this season, according to Olympics.com’s match report. (wtatennis.com) ### How did Svitolina take control of the final? Svitolina recovered from an early break in the opening set and reeled off four straight games after facing three break points at 2-4, the Associated Press report said. She took the first set 6-4, then rebuilt after losing the second-set tiebreak to pull away in the decider. (wtatennis.com) WTA match statistics showed Svitolina converted 6 of 15 break points, while Gauff converted 3 of 17. Svitolina won 127 of the match’s 242 total points and finished with two aces and two double faults, compared with one ace and seven double faults for Gauff. ### What did the numbers from Rome show? The WTA score page listed Svitolina as the No. 7 seed and Gauff as the No. 3 seed in the final. (sportsnet.ca) The same page showed Svitolina saved 14 of 17 break points and won 52.5% of total points in the match. Olympics.com reported that Svitolina became the second woman aged 30 or older to win the WTA 1000 event in Rome and improved to 8-0 in clay-court finals. (wtatennis.com) The site also said the title was her fifth at WTA 1000 level. ### Which opponents did Svitolina beat to reach the trophy? (wtatennis.com) The WTA’s final preview listed Svitolina’s route through the draw: Noemi Basiletti, Hailey Baptiste, Nikola Bartunkova, No. 2 Elena Rybakina and No. 4 Iga Swiatek before the final against Gauff. Her semifinal win over Swiatek came 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 on Friday, May 15. (olympics.com) That run gave Svitolina victories over three top-four opponents in one week in Rome — Rybakina, Swiatek and Gauff — according to Olympics.com. ### What did Svitolina and Gauff say afterward? “It’s very hard to believe that it’s been eight years when I had this trophy here,” Svitolina said on court after the match, according to the Associated Press report carried by Sportsnet. (wtatennis.com) She added that she was “very, very happy” after claiming her 20th career title. (olympics.com) Gauff said the tournament still gave her encouragement before Paris. “It’s been a great two weeks... and I definitely feel the momentum going into the French Open,” she said, according to the same report. ### What comes next after Rome? The WTA preview said the Rome women’s singles champion earned €1,055,285, while the runner-up received €549,335. (sportsnet.ca) The next major stop on the calendar is the French Open in Paris, where the main draw is scheduled to begin on May 24. Paris will now be the next tournament for the leading women’s clay-court players, with Svitolina arriving after a title run in Rome and Gauff after a second straight final at Foro Italico. (sportsnet.ca) (wtatennis.com)