Coco Gauff returns to Italian Open final, faces Elina Svitolina

United States’ Coco Gauff prepares to return the ball to Romania’s Sorana Cirstea during their match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

ROME– Coco Gauff has a chance to claim her first Italian Open title after she reached the women’s final, where she will meet Elina Svitolina, for the second straight year.

The American star beat veteran Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3 in the afternoon session on centre court to give herself a chance of going one better than last year, when she lost to Jasmine Paolini.

The American star has struggled on clay this season, with a last-16 exit in the Madrid Open coming after a disappointing run to the quarter-finals in Stuttgart.

But she dealt with Romanian Cirstea — who is set to retire at the end of the year — professionally as spring sunshine burst out on centre court, helped by a marked improvement in her often erratic service game.

The 22-year-old made only one double fault and got 79 percent of her first serves in play, and cut a confident figure on court.

“I think it’s like the first time in my career I feel like I’m really stable with that shot,” the defending French Open champion said of her second serve.

“I obviously don’t want to jinx anything, but I think we found the recipe to making it more consistent. Now it’s focusing on how to make it more of a weapon.”

Svitolina has a chance at her third Rome title, eight years after her last, after beating Iga Swiatek 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in a hard-fought contest which lacked the thrills and spills of the Medvedev win which preceded it.

Swiatek had looked a good bet for the final after playing her best clay-court tennis in two years on her way to the last four, ahead of her run at a fifth French Open title.