The Hologic WTA Tour`s clay-court season features another major event next week: the Internazionali BNL d`Italia, a WTA 1000 tournament held in Rome, Italy.
This historic tournament, a fixture on the tennis calendar since 1930, will hold its 82nd edition this year in the Italian capital.
As is customary, the Foro Italico grounds will host a strong field of players competing for the title. The 96-player singles draw is set to include sixty-eight of the top seventy players from the PIF WTA Rankings.
This two-week event begins main-draw competition on Tuesday, May 6. The singles final is scheduled for Saturday, May 17, with the doubles final taking place the next day. The women`s singles winner will receive over 877,000 Euros and 1000 ranking points.
Key Tournament Details:
- Main-Draw Start Date: Tuesday, May 6
- Singles Final: Saturday, May 17, not before 5 p.m. CET
- Doubles Final: Sunday, May 18 at 12 p.m. CET
- Qualifying Dates: Monday, May 5 and Tuesday, May 6
- Main-Draw Ceremony: Monday, May 5 at 11 a.m. CET
- Singles Main-Draw Size: 96 players (including 12 qualifiers and 8 wild cards); first-round byes for the 32 seeds
- Doubles Main-Draw Size: 32 teams
- Time Zone: Central European Summer Time (CET)
- Tournament Ball: Dunlop Fort Clay Court
Points and Prize Money:
- First round: 10 points | €13,150
- Second round: 35 points | €21,215
- Third round: 65 points | €38,313
- Round of 16: 120 points | €66,110
- Quarterfinals: 215 points | €124,700
- Semifinals: 390 points | €240,380
- Finalist: 650 points | €456,735
- Champion: 1000 points | €877,390
Storylines to Follow:
- Iga Swiatek: The defending champion and three-time winner (2021, 2022, 2024) has a dominant record in Rome (20-2). Her 2021 final victory was a commanding 6-0, 6-0.
- If Swiatek claims a fourth title, she will match Serena Williams, Conchita Martinez, and Gabriela Sabatini for the second-most Rome trophies. Chris Evert holds the record with five titles.
- Aryna Sabalenka: Entering Rome as World No. 1, Sabalenka leads the tour in main-draw match wins this year. After previously struggling in Rome, she reached her first final there last year before losing to Swiatek.
- Elina Svitolina: A two-time champion (2017, 2018), Svitolina showed strong clay form this year with a 9-0 start (18-0 in sets) before her run was halted by Sabalenka in the Madrid semifinals.
- Elena Rybakina: Another former champion (2023) returning. While currently outside the Top 10 for the first time since early 2023, she has a strong 10-2 record at this event.
- Coco Gauff: Gauff looks to build on her clay-court momentum after defeating Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 in the Madrid semifinals to reach her first WTA 1000 clay final. She reached the semifinals in Rome in 2021 and 2024, losing to Swiatek both times.
- Jasmine Paolini: Competing at her home event for the first time as a Top 10 player. Paolini previously had limited success in Rome (two main-draw wins in five appearances) but has since reached two Grand Slam finals (2024 Roland Garros and Wimbledon).
