During the first-ever meeting of the world number one and two in the women’s final in Rome, Italy, On athlete Iga Swiatek took charge of the court, outplaying Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 6-2, 6-3 to lift the trophy and capture her third title in the Italian capital.
The Rome final marked Swiatek’s 11th meeting with Sabalenka and their fifth in a final. With her victory, the Polish world number one joined only two other players, Dinara Safina and Serena Williams, who won the Madrid and Rome double.
Sabalenka was left with little opportunity in the first set, with Swiatek returning the Belarusian player’s serves easily and taking the first set with little trouble. As the players returned to the court for the second set, Sabalenka came out firing, hitting more winners in the first two games than she had in the first set. Swiatek fought back, saving all break points in the final, hitting back with strong serves, and breaking Sabalenka to lift the trophy.
Reflecting on the final after securing her 21st tour title, Swiatek said: “For sure this match looked a little bit differently than in Madrid. I felt like I’m putting a lot of pressure. I just continued doing that throughout the whole match. Really proud of myself and really happy.”
With her win in Rome, Swiatek has now won her last eight singles finals and has become only the second woman to win three or more Internazionali BNL d’Italia titles before the age of 23 in the Open Era. She had previously won the tournament in 2021 and 2022. It also marks the third tournament the Polish star has become a three-time champion (French Open, 2022, 2022 & 2023 and Doha (2022, 2023 & 2024).
With a 12-match winning streak in place, Swiatek now shifts her focus to the season’s second grand slam, hoping to capture her fourth title in the French capital.
