Elina Svitolina claimed a third Italian Open title on Saturday, outlasting Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 in a final that stretched close to three hours on the clay of the Foro Italico and ended with the Ukrainian sealing victory at the net on her third match point.
The seventh-ranked Svitolina, now 31, had not lifted a WTA 1000 trophy since her last Rome triumph in 2018. She also won the title here in 2017, and the eight-year wait gave Saturday’s win a weight that visibly caught up with her in the moments after the volley dropped.
“It’s very hard to believe that it’s been eight years when I had this trophy here and very, very, very pleased of course with the two weeks here,” Svitolina said on court, the title also marking the 20th of her career.
Skaï is the limit 🏆@ElinaSvitolina becomes the third comeback mother to win a WTA 1000 title after Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka!#IBI26 | @WTA pic.twitter.com/eVjNqgIBLC
— Internazionali BNL d'Italia (@InteBNLdItalia) May 16, 2026
The match. Gauff started the brighter of the two, breaking early and racing into a 4-2 lead in the opening set as Svitolina searched for rhythm. The Ukrainian then reeled off four games in succession to take the set, and although Gauff steadied to force a second-set tie-break and level the match, the decider belonged to Svitolina.
She broke the American’s serve twice in the third, leaving Gauff to serve to stay in the championship before closing out the win at the net.
For Gauff. The world No. 4 has now lost in the Rome final in back-to-back years. The reigning Roland Garros champion had battled through a draw that demanded resilience across the fortnight, and her second-set fightback underlined the form that has carried her to two WTA 1000 finals already in 2026, including Miami.
But Svitolina, who has now beaten Gauff in all three of their meetings this year, proved too composed in the closing exchanges. The result extends Svitolina’s perfect record in clay-court finals.
What’s next. Attention in Rome now turns to Sunday’s men’s final, where home favourite Jannik Sinner will face Casper Ruud. For Svitolina and Gauff, focus shifts almost immediately to Roland Garros, where the Parisian clay begins on May 24. Gauff arrives as defending champion; Svitolina arrives, suddenly, as one of the form players on the surface.
