Svitolina wins Rome; Sinner eyes history in Sunday's final

The Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Italian Open) — a joint ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 event on outdoor red clay at Foro Italico, Rome — completed its women's draw on Saturday and plays the men's final today. The week delivered one completed champion, one record-breaking run still in progress, 22 withdrawals, and a Roland Garros field that looks nothing like it did a month ago. 1

Elina Svitolina (Ukraine, world No. 7, age 31) won the 2026 Italian Open on Saturday, defeating Coco Gauff (USA, world No. 4, age 22) 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 in 2 hours 48 minutes. 2 It is her third Rome title after 2017 and 2018, and her 20th career WTA singles title.

What made the title unusual was the path. Svitolina beat three of the world's top four players in four days: No. 2 Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan, 26) in the quarterfinal, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4; No. 3 Iga Swiatek (Poland, 24) in the semifinal, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2; and No. 4 Gauff in the final. 3 No player had previously beaten seeds No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 in the same Rome edition.

Svitolina also saved 58 of 76 break points faced across the tournament — a pressure stat that helps explain why she held on across three three-set matches in the knockout rounds. 3 She is now 8-0 in clay-court finals and becomes only the second woman aged 30 or older to win the Italian Open in the Open Era, after Serena Williams. 2

Svitolina returned to professional tennis after giving birth, making this title part of one of the more unusual comeback arcs on the current tour. This Rome title makes her the third mother to win a WTA 1000 event in the Open Era, joining Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka. 4 She also acknowledged the moment carried weight beyond tennis, dedicating part of the victory to people in Ukraine: "Many of them are in bomb shelters and it's been really heavy in the past couple of weeks for Ukraine." 4

Gauff, for her part, lost the Rome final for the second straight year but sounded composed about what it means heading into Paris. "Another tough battle between us," she said. "You had an incredible tournament with a lot of long matches against great players. Hopefully I'll see you at the French Open, in the final." 2

Before Svitolina could reach the final, the draw had to clear out its favorites. The biggest early shock came in the third round, when 36-year-old Sorana Cirstea (Romania, world No. 27) defeated No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus, 28) 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. 5 It was Cirstea's first career win over a world No. 1. Sabalenka, who had already lost in the Madrid quarterfinal the week before, revealed a back injury was limiting her rotation during the match. "I feel like my body was limiting me from performing on the highest level," she said. 5

Cirstea — who has announced she will retire at the end of the 2026 season — went on to reach the semifinal before losing to Gauff. It was among the strongest stretches of her career, and her run to No. 18 in the live rankings represents a new career high. 3

On the men's side, the week belongs to Jannik Sinner (Italy, world No. 1, age 24) even if the final is still ahead.

Sinner's quarterfinal win over Andrey Rublev (Russia, 28) 6-2, 6-4 on May 13 gave him his 32nd consecutive ATP Masters 1000 victory, breaking Novak Djokovic's record of 31 set in 2011. 6 "I don't play for records. I play to write my own history and I always try to do my best," Sinner said after the match. 6

The semifinal against Daniil Medvedev (Russia, 30) on May 15–16 proved the most complicated. Rain stopped the match overnight with Sinner leading two sets to one but not yet finished; the players returned Saturday to complete what became a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 Sinner victory. 7 The overnight wait was not easy. "During the night usually I never struggle to sleep. This night was not easy," Sinner said. "When you're in the third set, nearly done, but you still have to show up again — it's basically a new start of a match." 7

The match also produced a visual that went viral: during the final stages, Sinner appeared to struggle to breathe and had to slow his heart rate before continuing. Former Italian professional Flavia Pennetta (Sky Sports tennis analyst) described it as looking "almost like an anxiety or panic attack." 8 Sinner downplayed the moment afterwards, saying he was going to be fine and attributing it to accumulated fatigue. No formal diagnosis was issued. 9

Sinner faces Casper Ruud (Norway, age 26) in the men's singles final today (Sunday, May 17, 17:00 CEST at Foro Italico). 10 Should Sinner win, he will complete the Career Golden Masters — holding titles at all nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments — joining Novak Djokovic, who achieved the feat at age 31. Sinner is 24. 10

Ruud reached the final by dismantling Italy's Luciano Darderi (world No. 18) 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinal. 11 Sinner leads the head-to-head series 4-0 against Ruud — never having dropped a set — including a 6-0, 6-1 win over the Norwegian in Rome last year. Ruud acknowledged the difficulty: "Sinner sort of looks unplayable and unbeatable these days." 10

The final is also the first time an Italian man has played in the Rome final since Adriano Panatta — the 1976 French Open champion and Italian tennis icon — won the title here 50 years ago. Italian President Sergio Mattarella is scheduled to attend. 10

This year's Italian Open drew an extraordinary injury toll by any measure: 22 players withdrew or retired mid-match across the combined ATP and WTA draws — a number Tennis365 called unprecedented for a single Masters 1000 event. 12

The headline absence was Carlos Alcaraz (Spain, world No. 2, age 23), the two-time defending Roland Garros champion, who withdrew from both Rome and the French Open due to an inflamed tendon sheath in his right wrist — an injury sustained in the first round of the Barcelona Open in mid-April. 13 Injury expert Stephen Smith (CEO, Kitman Labs) told Tennis365 the injury type — tendon sheath rather than the tendon itself — was "generally indicative that it's not a major issue," though he added that Alcaraz's decision to withdraw early was "probably being smart" given how a compressed calendar can turn a minor injury into a prolonged absence. 14

Arthur Fils (France, world No. 17, age 21) retired after just 22 minutes in the second round after feeling a sharp pain in his hip during his match against Italian qualifier Andrea Pellegrino. Scans later came back clear, and Fils posted on social media: "Felt something during the match in Rome. I ran all the tests with the team and everything is clear. Already back to work for Paris." 15

Alexander Zverev (Germany, world No. 3, age 29) withdrew from next week's ATP 500 Bitpanda Hamburg Open due to a back injury that has bothered him throughout the clay season. In Rome he lost a match he was leading 6-1, 5-3 before collapsing 1-6, 7-6(10), 0-6. His Roland Garros participation remains intended but uncertain given the back issue and only eight days of recovery time. 16 "I have been dealing with back problems throughout the entire clay-court season," Zverev said. "My medical team has therefore strongly advised me to take a break." 16

The full ATP pre-tournament withdrawal list also included Taylor Fritz (USA, No. 7), Holger Rune (Denmark, No. 40, Achilles), and Jack Draper (Great Britain, No. 50, knee). Eight women withdrew before the draw began, including Amanda Anisimova (USA, No. 6, left wrist) and Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic, No. 44, provisional suspension). 12

Sinner, asked about the wave of withdrawals, put it simply: "It's also normal. Some players struggle a little bit more at times. This is how it is in tennis. You cannot be always on top." 9

WTA (live, as of May 17): Aryna Sabalenka holds No. 1 at 9,960 live points, down from 10,110 before Rome. Rybakina stays No. 2 (8,705), Swiatek No. 3 (7,273), Gauff No. 4 (6,749). The top four positions are unchanged despite all four players losing points compared to their previous total — a sign of how evenly matched the field is. Svitolina climbs from No. 10 to No. 7 (4,315 pts, +785 net gain). Cirstea rises nine places to a career-high No. 18. 17

The biggest drops: Jasmine Paolini (Italy, 30), defending Rome champion, falls from No. 8 to No. 13 after a third-round exit. Qinwen Zheng (China, 23) plunges 21 places to approximately No. 53 after defending a semifinal run from 2025 with only a third-round result. 17

ATP (live, pre-final): Sinner stays No. 1 at 14,350 points. Carlos Alcaraz remains No. 2 at 12,960 despite missing Rome. Zverev No. 3, Djokovic No. 4. Medvedev rises to No. 9 after his Rome semifinal run. Teenager João Fonseca (Brazil) enters the top 30 at No. 29, the youngest player in the current top 30. 18 Ruud's final ranking adjustment and any Sinner points update will follow Monday's official post-Rome publication.

Away from the trophies, Italian semifinalist Luciano Darderi (world No. 18, age 23) generated headlines for reasons he would prefer to forget. Before his semifinal against Ruud on Friday, Darderi walked past a ball kid — later named as Camilla — without greeting her or shaking her hand. Ruud, in contrast, escorted the ball kid assigned to him onto the court. The contrast was caught on video and circulated widely on social media. 19

Darderi issued an apology on Instagram: "I deeply regret not shaking hands with Camilla: it was an involuntary gesture, which occurred in a moment of great concentration and tension in an important setting." 19 He lost the semifinal 6-1, 6-1 to Ruud, having earlier beaten Alexander Zverev and Tommy Paul to reach the last four. The incident overshadowed an otherwise breakthrough tournament for the 23-year-old.

Roland Garros 2026 qualifying begins this morning, with 128 men and 128 women competing for 16 main draw spots each (qualifying runs May 18–22). The main draw starts May 24 and runs through June 7. Total prize money is €61,723,000, up 9.53% from 2025, with the singles winner earning €2.8 million. 20

Men's draw: Alcaraz's absence removes the defending two-time champion and leaves Sinner as the overwhelming favorite. Assuming he wins Sunday's final in Rome, Sinner arrives in Paris carrying a six-title Masters 1000 streak, a 33-match (or longer) winning run at that level, and the psychological momentum of playing his best tennis of his career. 10 Ruud, despite his 0-4 record against Sinner, brings 140 clay-match wins since 2020 — the most of any ATP player in that span — and 11 career clay titles. 11 Djokovic (Serbia, 39, three-time RG champion) and Medvedev are also in the field; Zverev's participation depends on his back recovery in the coming days.

Women's draw: Svitolina heads to Paris with more momentum than at any point in her career since returning from maternity leave. She is 3-0 against Gauff in 2026 and beat three top-4 players in four days just this week. Gauff, the defending Roland Garros champion, lost the final but made an 11th-hour point: "I definitely feel the momentum going into the French Open. A lot of lessons learned from this match." 2 Four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek carries a 35-2 career record on the Paris clay despite her semifinal exit this week. 21 Sabalenka, 2025 RG finalist, will be watching whether her back holds up after two consecutive early clay losses.

Two special storylines add color to the Paris fortnight: Gaël Monfils (France, world No. 222, wildcard), the crowd favorite and Svitolina's husband, has announced this is his final Roland Garros before retirement, with a charity farewell evening on May 21. Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland, 41), 2015 Roland Garros champion, is also making a final appearance after entering the main draw following Lorenzo Musetti's withdrawal. 20

The draw ceremony takes place on Thursday, May 21, at 2:00 PM CEST in Paris. Seeds will be based on the May 18 official rankings — meaning Sunday's Rome final result will be fully reflected when the draw is made.