Elina Svitolina topples Iga Świątek in Italian Open

In Italian Open, Elina Svitolina stunned Iga Swiatek, holding off the Pole's late attempt to fight back, and booked her place in the final of the tournament. Svitolina saved 11 of 16 break points in the semifinal, including all five she faced in the final set. She has faced (59) and saved (44) the most break points of any player in a single WTA main draw this season, excluding team and Grand Slam events. Her overall win–loss record against Gauff is 3–2 after wins against the two-time Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open and in Dubai.

Svitolina secures her spot in the Rome final! @ElinaSvitolina defeats Swiatek 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.#IBI26 pic.twitter.com/3sLoJvK7tU

— wta (@WTA) May 14, 2026

Svitolina was pegged back by Swiatek, but the Ukrainian triumphed 6-4 2-6 6-2 in two hours and 16 minutes to set up a meeting with Coco Gauff on Saturday. The age gap between Svitolina and Gauff — 9 years and 182 days — marks the biggest in an Internazionali d’Italia final since Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles (17 years and 45 days) played for the title in 1990, according to the WTA.
Notably, Gauff became the youngest American since Venus Williams in 1998–99 to reach consecutive Italian Open finals. She is also the first player to reach back-to-back Rome finals since Swiatek in 2021–22.