Elina Svitolina downs Iga Swiatek to reach first Rome final since 2018

Elina Svitolina is back in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final, and she earned it the hard way.

Svitolina, the 2017 and 2018 champion at the Foro Italico, weathered a second-set surge from the former world No. 1 before storming through the decider for a gritty 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 semifinal victory on Thursday evening.

After also surviving a two-hour, 24-minute quarterfinal against Elena Rybakina the day before, Svitolina has now taken down the world No. 2 and world No. 3 in consecutive matches.

“It’s amazing, the feeling is just unreal,” Svitolina said in an on-court interview. “After so many years, (to be) here again in the final is such an amazing feeling. And to do it in such a great way!”

Read More: Iga Swiatek routs Jessica Pegula in Rome to reach first semifinal of 2026 season

Svitolina edged through a tightly contested first set, helped by an error-strewn performance from Swiatek. The Pole struck just seven winners against 24 unforced errors—while Svitolina stayed steady with five winners and 12 unforced errors—and dropped serve three times in the opener.

But Swiatek found her footing in the second set as Svitolina’s level dipped. The five-time Grand Slam champion raced to a 3-0 lead with a double break and significantly improved behind her serve: After landing just 52 percent of her first serves in the opening set, Swiatek raised that number to 81 percent in the second to keep Svitolina on the defensive.

Thankfully for Svitolina, defense is her specialty. The Ukrainian saved three break points in a tense opening game of the deciding set, before breaking Swiatek for a 3-0 lead. The Pole never recovered.

As a result, the former world No. 1 remains without a title in 2026 and now heads to Roland Garros without having reached a final on red clay this season.

For Svitolina, the victory sees her reach her third final of 2026 and her second at the WTA 1000 level. She opened the season by winning the title in Auckland, and later finished runner-up in Dubai, where she lost to Jessica Pegula in the final.

Awaiting Svitolina in Saturday’s final is world No. 4 Coco Gauff, who eased past No. 26 seed Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3.

The Rome final will mark the sixth meeting between Svitolina and Gauff, with the Ukrainian leading the head-to-head 3-2. They have never met on clay, but Svitolina won both of their meetings earlier this season—in the Australian Open quarterfinals and the Dubai semifinals.