Gauff, Paolini Set for Rome Final Showdown

ROME — Coco Gauff and Jasmine Paolini are set to face off in the final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia after surviving grueling semifinal matches on Thursday at Foro Italico.

The championship will be a clash of continents as American Gauff, seeded fourth, battles Italy’s sixth seed Paolini in a bid to claim her first WTA 1000 title of the year.

Paolini became only the third Italian woman in the Open Era to reach the final of her home tournament, defeating unseeded American Peyton Stearns 7-5, 6-1.

“It gives me a lot of confidence,” Paolini said of her past season. “I have to remember that, a lot of experience that I have … under my belt. At the same time, this year is another year. It’s different, completely different story.”

Paolini’s road to the final included a Round of 16 win over Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, the No. 17 seed, and a tough quarterfinal victory over No. 13 Diana Shnaider of Russia.

Against Stearns, Paolini saved five of seven break points and dominated on second-return points, winning 65.6 percent.

Paolini is chasing history as the first Italian champion in Rome since Raffaella Reggi in 1985. The last Italian finalist was Sara Errani, who lost in 2014.

In the night session, Gauff edged past China’s eighth seed Qinwen Zheng 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (4) in a three-hour, 32-minute battle, becoming the first American woman to reach the Rome final since Madison Keys in 2016.

“I was just trying to go for every point,” Gauff said. “I knew before it was going to be a physical match. Last time we played was over three hours.”

“Overall I’m just happy. Wasn’t my best level at all, to be honest. Just happy to get through it and through to another final.”

Gauff, 21, has not won a singles title since her triumph at the WTA Finals in November 2023. Earlier this month, she reached the final of the Madrid Open, losing to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

She also competed in doubles in Rome with Filipino teen Alex Eala, though the pair exited in the quarterfinals after falling to Paolini and Errani.

The final marks the latest step in Paolini’s breakout season, having already captured a WTA 1000 title in Dubai in February.

The winner of Saturday’s final will claim one of the WTA Tour’s most prestigious clay-court titles and boost their preparation for the French Open, which begins later this month.