WTA 1000 Rome: Coco to Rise from the 2025 Ruins?
Tournament history
Played in the Italian capital of Rome, the WTA 1000 Rome event is known officially as the Internazionali BNL D’Italia, though it’s also often referred to as simply the Italian Open.
One of ten WTA 1000 events, the Internazionali BNL D’Italia has been won by some of the biggest names in the sport, both historically and in recent times. Titans of the game such as Billie Jean King, Virginia Wade, Chris Evert, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Iga Swiatek have all won this prestigious event. Having scooped the prize in Rome no less than five times, Chris Evert is the most successful player in Italian Open history.
Recent winners and finalists of the Internazionali BNL D’Italia:
2021 - Iga Swiatek defeated Karolina Pliskova
2022 - Iga Swiatek defeated Ons Jabeur
2023 - Elena Rybakina defeated Anhelina Kalinina
2024 - Iga Swiatek defeated Aryna Sabalenka
2025 - Jasmine Paolini defeated Coco Gauff
The action in Rome likely won’t be as speedy as what we’ve recently seen in Madrid, which features some of the fastest surfaces on the clay-court swing. Instead, in Rome, where the surface promotes slower play, it’s all about stamina, which typically helps players who aren’t heavily reliant on aggressive play.
As we can see from the above tournament history, Iga Swiatek, who is very much an all-rounder, loves to get down to business in Rome, where she has won three of the last five renewals of this high-class event.
Swiatek looking to swoop for a fourth time
In recent years, one player has taken to this WTA event better than all others. As we can see from the above tournament history, that player is Iga Swiatek, who is very much an all-rounder, loves to get down to business in Rome, where she has won three of the last five renewals of this high-class event.
Having gone all the way in both 2021 and 2022, Swiatek reached the quarters in 2023, before winning the tournament for a third time in 2024, becoming the first female player to secure three Internazionali BNL D’Italia titles since Serena Williams in 2014.
In 2025, though, Swiatek couldn’t do much to defend her title, exiting at the third-round stage. Will she bounce back with a fourth tournament success in 2026? We’ll soon find out.
Who can stop the Pole?
Clearly Iga Swiatek has a big chance this week, and if she’s anywhere near the level that she’s previously shown in Rome, she’ll be tough to stop. However, it must be said that the Pole hasn’t been at her best in 2026, so now could be the time for someone to stop here, even if she does typically thrive in the Italian capital.
Having won the tournament a year ago, home-court player Jasmine Paolini will be looking to go deep, though the Italian hasn’t exactly been in sparkling form over the last few months, winning only seven out of 12 matches since the start of March, winning just a single match at both the big events in Miami and Madrid.
The answer to the puzzle may just be Coco Gauff, who is of course a very strong player in general, but her ability on clay courts of this nature should help the American competitor to do very well.
Gauff did lose at the third time of asking in Madrid, but her game is likely better suited to the style of play required in Rome, where she made the final a year ago. Gauff has also reached the semi-final (or better) of the Internazionali BNL D’Italia three times since 2021, so she knows how to raise her game at this venue.
She’s looked in good condition recently, and we only have to go back to March to see her last final, while she’s now had a couple of clay-court tournaments to get up to speed on this surface, so don’t be stunned if the world number four goes all the way and rises from the ruins of her 2025 final defeat.
Our WTA 1000 Rome Pick: Coco Gauff to win the tournament.
