The sixth WTA 1000 title of the season is up for grabs, and we’ll have a blockbuster clash to determine the winner.
Home favourite Jasmine Paolini will face World No.3 Coco Gauff in Rome on Saturday as both look to secure their first titles of the season.
No.4 seed Gauff battled into her second straight WTA 1000 final of the season after she survived a marathon against Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Paolini denied an All-American showdown when she beat Peyton Stearns to secure her place and become the first home finalist on the women’s side in Rome for 11 years.
“I am very happy, I don’t know what to say! It’s a dream to be here, it’s a dream to play in Italy, it’s a dream to be able to play the final,” she said.
“You (the crowd) gave me a boost because today it was a bit of an uphill start and I struggled at the beginning, thank goodness you were there.
“We won this match together. Point after point I managed to fight, to turn it around, even if at the beginning I did not have a good feeling. But I am happy with the way I managed to turn this match around.”
The stakes are huge too, with the singles with the champion set to pocket 1,000 ranking points and just under a million dollars, $977,942 to be exact.
Gauff and Paolini haven’t played each other much on tour, but it’s the Italian who should feel the most confident.
Just last month, Paolini beat the American in Stuttgart on clay with a 6-4. 6-3 victory.
“[The Stuttgart quarterfinal vs. Paolini] was a tough match. She played well. She’s a tough opponent,” Gauff said.
“I think especially here with the home crowd behind her, she’s going to be playing some great tennis. I have to expect that.
Gauff will play in her second final of the yearGETTY Gauff and Kateřina Siniaková beat Paolini and Sara Errani in the French Open doublesGetty“Hopefully I can bring a better level and hopefully win the title. If not, I’m proud just really of this [semifinal] match, too.”
However, it’s still Gauff who holds the advantage in their head-to-head, leading 2-1.
She beat Paolini on hard courts in their first two matches at Adelaide in 2021 and Cincinnati in 2023.
Saturday’s final will also have some consequences when it comes to the record books.
Should Paolini win the tournament, she will become the first Italian women’s singles champion in Rome since Raffaella Reggi in 1985, 40 years ago.
She also has experience of lifting a trophy at this tournament, although it was in doubles.
Paolini and Errani were champions last year — beating Gauff and New Zealander Erin Routliffe in the final.
While Gauff is looking to become the first American champion since Serena Williams defeated Madison Keys in 2016.
A title will also be Gauff’s first championship on this surface since her 2021 WTA 250 win in Parma.
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