Svitolina outlasts Swiatek to reach first Rome final in eight years, beating Nos. 2 and 3 in 24 hours
Ukrainian No. 7 seed Elina Svitolina reached her first Rome WTA 1000 final since she won the title in 2018 with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win over Polish No. 4 seed Iga Świątek on Campo Centrale, the 31-year-old following her three-set defeat of world No. 2 Elena Rybakina the previous night with a victory over … Continued
Elina Svitolina, Rome 2026 | © Foto FITP
Ukrainian No. 7 seed Elina Svitolina reached her first Rome WTA 1000 final since she won the title in 2018 with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win over Polish No. 4 seed Iga Świątek on Campo Centrale, the 31-year-old following her three-set defeat of world No. 2 Elena Rybakina the previous night with a victory over the world No. 3 in two hours and 15 minutes — both of them ground out in under 24 hours, both decided by margins that came down to nerve at the decisive moments.
“It’s amazing”, Svitolina said on court. “The feeling is just unreal to be after so many years here again in the final. It’s such an amazing feeling to do it in such a great way, I think.”
Asked about Sunday’s final against Coco Gauff, who had beaten Sorana Cirstea earlier in the day, the Ukrainian was measured. “We’ve played many times. It’s not a surprise. We both know the way we bring the fight.”
Swiatek won more points
In the night session semifinal, Świątek won more total points than Svitolina – 88 to 86, a margin of two across a near three-hour match – and still lost. But the Pole created 16 break-point opportunities and converted five (31%). Svitolina created nine and took six (67%).
Everything else between them was the same. First-serve points won: 64% each. Second-serve points won: 37% to 36%. Return points won on first serve: 36% each. This was a match between two players operating at virtually identical levels, separated only by who held their game together at the points that mattered.
The opening game of the third set, played for almost 10 minutes, captured the entire match. Svitolina faced multiple break points in a marathon hold, saved them all, then broke Świątek to love in the next game. The 2-0 lead she carried out of that sequence she never gave back. Świątek, playing her first tour-level semi-final of 2026, ran out of routes to break the match open and surrendered another break at 3-1 down before Svitolina served it out on her first match point.
Sixth WTA level final for Svitolina, second uin 2026
It is Svitolina’s 25th career WTA final and her sixth at WTA 1000 level – her second WTA 1000 final of 2026 after Dubai in February. She has now won her last two meetings with Świątek, both this season, and is the only active player to have beaten the Pole on all three surfaces.
It is her sixth top-10 win of the year and the 49th of her career. With Sunday’s final guaranteed, the Ukrainian also becomes the second-oldest player in history to reach WTA 1000 finals on both clay (she lost to Pegula in Dubaï in February) and hard courts in a single season – Serena Williams did so in 2014 and 2016.
Svitolina leads Gauff 3-2 in the head-to-head and has won both of their 2026 meetings, at Dubai and Indian Wells. They have never met on clay. “Both reach Sunday’s final on their second WTA 1000 final of the season. “Our last match was something out of this world,” Svitolina said about the Indian Well quarter final (6-2, 4-6, 6-4 Svitolina in 2 hours and 9 minutes). “I’m going to rewatch that to find the ways. I’ll be ready for the final.”
