Coco Gauff Beats Cirstea to Reach Second Straight Italian Open Final
Coco Gauff reached the Italian Open final for the second year running, committing just one double fault and winning 79% of first-serve points against Cirstea.
Gauff books another Rome final with win over Cirstea...
Coco Gauff moved into the Italian Open final for the second year running on Thursday, taking down Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3.
Clay hadn’t been kind to the American lately. She went out in the last 16 in Madrid after a quarterfinal exit in Stuttgart. Against Cirstea, who plans to retire at season’s end, Gauff was steady. Her serve looked cleaner too, and that helped as the sun came out on centre court.
What a point from @CocoGauff to close out the match in straight sets 6-4, 6-3! 💪#IBI26 pic.twitter.com/B5PitcprxB
— wta (@WTA) May 14, 2026
Gauff kept things tidy on serve, hitting just one double fault and landing 79% of her first serves. She looked composed on court and could face a resurgent Iga Swiatek for the title.
ROME 🤝 COCO @CocoGauff is the youngest American since Venus Williams (1998-99) to reach the Rome final in consecutive seasons.#IBI26 pic.twitter.com/x9gNrJAL3S
— wta (@WTA) May 14, 2026
Jasmine Paolini beat Gauff in last year’s final in Rome. This time, Gauff has a shot at going one step further before heading to Roland Garros to defend her title.
Swiatek will try to make her first final of the season when she plays Elina Svitolina in the day’s last match on centre court.
Swiatek owns six Grand Slam titles, but her clay form dipped after she won her fourth French Open two years ago. In Rome, she looks like she’s found it again.
After a scrappy second-round match against Caty McNally, she’s dropped only seven games across her next three matches and is playing like herself on clay.
Swiatek added Francisco Roig to her team earlier this season. Roig previously coached Rafael Nadal, and the switch came after a tough start to the year for Swiatek.
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