Roma Revival: Svitolina Staves off Gauff for Third Rome Crown
By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, May 16, 2026
Photo credit: Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images
Streaking across the red clay, Elina Svitolina blistered a backhand down the line sliding to a stop within sniffing distance of the court-side flowers.
No time to stop and smell the roses, Svitolina was too busy booming and blooming on the red clay.
A revitalized Svitolina roared through the final five games in a row out-dueling Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2—her third straight win over the American this year—to capture third career Rome championship.
It is Svitolina’s 20th career championship.
Eight years after her last Rome title, Svitolina improved her immaculate clay-court finals record to 8-0.
In a fantastic fortnight, the 31-year-old Svitolina swept Madrid semifinalist Hailey Baptistie then beat three Top 5-ranked champions—No. 2 Elena Rybakina, No. 3 Iga Swiatek and No. 4 Gauff—in succession making history as the oldest woman to claim three or more Top 5 wins at a WTA 1000 tournament.
Exuding her fighting spirit and showing sharp problem-solving skills helped propel Svitolina to the title.
“It’s very hard to believe that it’s been eight years since I had this trophy here,” Svitolina told the crowd. “Very, very pleased of course with the two weeks here.
“I’m very happy to hold this trophy with you [my team]. I want to thank my fitness trainer, thank of course my family, my husband, telling me I’m very bad at speeches so hopefully it’s not too bad this time.”
Kipling’s “If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same” resonates deeply across the red clay this month as Ukrainian women, inspired by their fighting spirit of their compatriots at home, raised back to back WTA 1000 championships.
Two weeks ago, all-court acrobat Marta Kostyuk clipped Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in today’s Mutua Madrid Open final then celebrated with a brilliant back flip.
While Ukrainians back home dig out of the rubble or watch the matches from bomb shelters, Svitolina and Kostyuk are flying the flag with pride on the game’s greatest red clay stages.
Today, Svitolina, Kostyuk’s teammate on Ukraine’s Olympic and Billie Jean King teams, returned as Rome ruler and thanked fans back home empowering arguably her greatest title run.
“I want to thank all the people back in Ukraine who have been watching, supporting being in a bomb shelter,” Svitolina said. “Its been very heavy time for Ukraine.
“I want to thank all the support for trying to find the matches and finding the matches and watching the matches. I feel the love. Thank you. Slava Ukraini.”
It’s the second title of the season for Auckland champion, Svitolina who improved to 28-7, including 7-3 vs. Top 10 opponents, in 2026.
It was a gritty effort from Gauff, who betrayed her own cause by committing 67 unforced errors, including 40 from her unruly forehand. Gautf served a high-percentage building a 4-2 first-set lead, but twice surrendered serve in two double fault games and converted just 3 of 17 break points.
“I think it was more of a sense of nerve. When you give yourself that many opportunities, it’s not a game thing ’cause your game is fine because you’re making those opportunities,” Gauff said of her break-point conversion struggles. “It’s just being better on those points.
“I think I was, again, like I said, too passive. Some of them I got unlucky in the first set. A couple let cords. She raised her level. A lot of them I think I just didn’t put enough on the ball.”
A year after bowing to home hero Jasmine Paolini in the final, Gauff suffered a dispiriting end to a dynamic tournament that saw her save a match point to knock off compatriot Iva Jovic 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 in the round of 16.
The 22-year–old Gauff led in all three sets in this final, but Svitolina played more proactive tennis on pivotal points.
“I want to congratulate Elina—another tough battle between us,” Gauff said. “I’m on the other side and hopefully one of these days I can get over that.
“You’ve had a lot of long matches against great player so congratulations on that. Hopefully I’ll see you at the French Open in the finals.A lot of lessons learned from this match. I keep going.”
While Gauff may rue some of those forehand errors that broke down at times, full credit to Svitolina who continued to pound away at that weaker wing and provoke errors.
In their first clay-court clash, Gauff came out, thumping the ball deep in the court off both wings.
Turning her hips and shoulders into her two-hander, Gauff banged a backhand winner for a third break point. In the ensuing 27-shot rally, Svitolina repeatedly challenged the American’s more fragile forehand, but Gauff hung tough drawing a netted reply breaking to open the final.
Landing first serves, Gauff backed up the break at love for 2-0.
Midway through the set, Svitolina started playing closer to the baseline mixing the depth and angle of her forehand and exploited a sloppy serve game from the American to break back.
The third seed capped a two double fault game with successive forehand errors, blowing a 40-Love lead and gifting Svitolina the break to even after eight games.
In the punishing 13-minute game that followed, Svitolina showed supreme toughness staving off three break points. Draining every second of the shot clock to recover after length exchanges, Svitolina, who had been silent much of the match, was suddenly grunting with each forehand strike.
The two-time champion drew a pair of forehand errors from Gauff in a fierce 13-minute stand for 5-4.
In a sign of jitters, a tight Gauff framed a double fault to start the 10th game.
The pair staged a crackling crosscourt forehand exchange until Svitolina scalded a forehand strike down the line for break and set point 59-minutes into the match.
Nerves tightened up Gauff’s right arm as she again shanked a double fault—her second straight two double fault game—as Svitolina stole the one-hour opener with a four game run.
The Australian Open semifinalist saved eight of 10 break points rallying from a 2-4 deficit then showing sheer will and courage saving three break points in both the seventh and ninth games with strong stands.
A frustrated Gauff hit herself as if administering punishment for the blown lead then griped misgivings about her play to coach Jean Christophe Faurel, who emphasized the positives and urged her to keep fighting.
Svitolina slid the first ace of the match down the T opening the second set with a hold.
In a dazzling ninth game, Svitolina hit a pair of sensational shots, including a slick scoop half-volley. Svitolina saved a break point along the way when Gauff went all in on a backhand down the line, but netted it. The two-time champion made a stand holding for 5-4.
For much of the first set, Gauff was winning the longer rallies, but Svitolina changed that with her forehand aggression in the second set.
By the latter stages, Gauff was actively shortening points, using the drop shot at times and even attacking net herself.
A Gauff forehand approach clipped the tape and popped up. Svitlina smacked a pass into the American’s hip, but Gauff responded with a stab, self-preservation volley winner breaking for 6-5.
Serving to force a decider, Gauff was defensive falling into a Love-40 hole. Svitolina rapped a running forehand pass breaking to force the second-set tiebreaker.
The seventh seed hit a high forehand swing volley for a 3-2 lead only to see Gauff roar through five points in a row.
The pivotal point came when Gauff clocked a forehand winner down the line ending a 20-shot rally with a bang for the mini break and a 5-3 lead. Svitolina netted successive forehands as Gauff snatched the second set.
Saving a break point in the opening game of the decider, Gauff drilled her first ace to help navigate the hold after two hours, 16 minutes.
There’s a serenity in Svitolina’s smooth strokes and a calmness in her face—even under severe stress—that’s admirable. Svitolina cranked a forehand down the line to save a break point, eventually holding to level after four games.
Reading the drop shot, Svitolina poked a forehand pass for 15-30. Gauff flat-lined successive drives into net as Svitolina scored her fifth break for a 3-2 lead in the decider.
The Roland Garros champion never recovered. Svitolina backed up the break at 30 then hit a brilliant running backhand down the line that helped her go up a double break at 5-2.
Despite the defeat, Gauff said she feels prepared ahead of launching her Roland Garros title defense in Paris.
“There’s a lot of positives I can take from this tournament and a lot I can learn from,” Gauff said. “I’m sure
the pressure will be there.
“I don’t know. I think this week I experienced all the ups and downs of a tournament that can bring you before a Grand Slam of I’ve been down, had the lead, lost the lead, I’ve been in the final, been down match point. I think I’ve experienced every scenario that can prepare me for
Roland Garros. Hopefully I can actually learn from each scenario and do better.”
Three months ago, Svitolina dealt with the disappointment of four match points dissipating in the tiebreaker then went into warrior mode out-dueling Gauff 6-4, 6-7(13), 6-4 in a wild clash to advance to her fifth career WTA 1000 final in Dubai. In February, Belinda Bencic and Svitolina made history by marking the first time two mothers ranked inside the WTA Top 10.
Digging in today, Gauff saved two championship points, including rocketing a forehand laser down the line.
Svitolina is a more complete player than the woman who beat Simona Halep to capture back-to-back Rome titles in 2017 and 2018. She showed it sliding a stinging serve down the T for a third championship point.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe pair came nearly nose-to-nose at net where Svitolina knocked off a final backhand volley then flung her racquet aside in an eruption of emotion.
Delivering timeless tennis commitment, Svitolina rules the Eternal City again.
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