Gauff and Świątek reach Italian Open semifinals

Coco Gauff and Iga Świątek moved within one win of a Rome final meeting after reaching the Italian Open semifinals in consecutive quarterfinal rounds this week. Gauff, the No. 3 seed, beat Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday in a 2-hour, 18-minute match. Świątek, seeded fourth, followed on Wednesday with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Jessica Pegula in 1 hour, 7 minutes. The women’s semifinal lineup in Rome is now set for Thursday, May 14. Sorana Cîrstea, the 36-year-old Romanian, will face Gauff in the first semifinal at Campo Centrale, while Elina Svitolina will play Świątek in the second semifinal later in the day. The WTA order of play lists Gauff-Cîrstea not before 15:00 local time and Świątek-Svitolina not before 20:30. (wtatennis.com) ### How did Gauff get through Mirra Andreeva? Coco Gauff dropped the first set against Andreeva before taking the next two to reach her fourth Rome semifinal. The WTA match page lists the final score as 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, with Gauff winning 102 of 197 total points and converting 7 of 17 break points. The 21-year-old American had to work for the result. (wtatennis.com) The WTA’s Rome coverage said Gauff needed five match points to close out the quarterfinal, underlining how narrow the finish was after she recovered from a set down. ### What stood out in Świątek’s win over Jessica Pegula? Iga Świątek produced one of her quickest wins of the tournament by beating Pegula 6-1, 6-2 in 67 minutes on Wednesday. (wtatennis.com) The official WTA scores page recorded the straight-sets result, and WTA coverage said it was Świątek’s first top-10 win of the 2026 season. (wtatennis.com) The 24-year-old Pole has won the Rome title three times before, and the WTA said the victory sent her into her first semifinal of 2026. In on-court comments reported by Tennis.com and reflected in WTA coverage, Świątek said she felt “much better” and had more confidence in her shots against Pegula. (wtatennis.com) ### Why is Sorana Cîrstea’s run drawing attention? Sorana Cîrstea reached the Rome semifinals by beating Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets, according to WTA coverage published Tuesday. The WTA said Cîrstea, 36, is through to her first Rome semifinal and improved to 25-7 for the season. (tennis.com) The Romanian’s age is part of the storyline. The WTA said Cîrstea became one of the oldest semifinalists in Rome and WTA 1000 history, giving Gauff a semifinal opponent who has put together one of the deeper runs of the week. ### How did Elina Svitolina complete the semifinal field? (wtatennis.com) Elina Svitolina joined the final four on Wednesday by defeating Elena Rybakina 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in 2 hours and 23 minutes. WTA coverage said Svitolina saved 16 break points and reached her first Rome semifinal since 2018. The semifinal sets up another clay-court test for Świątek against a player who has already come through a high-pressure quarterfinal in Rome. (wtatennis.com) The WTA order of play places that match in the evening session on Campo Centrale. ### When could Gauff and Świątek meet again? Thursday’s schedule in Rome puts Gauff against Cîrstea first and Świątek against Svitolina second, with the winners advancing to the women’s singles final. (wtatennis.com) The WTA draw and order of play show both semifinals on May 14 at the Foro Italico. The next women’s singles match involving these players is Gauff-Cîrstea at 15:00 local time on May 14, followed by Świątek-Svitolina at 20:30. (wtatennis.com) A Gauff-Świątek final would depend on both players winning those semifinal matches in Rome. (wtatennis.com)