Coco Gauff enters the 2026 Internazionali BNL d’Italia final looking for redemption after falling at this stage a year ago. Across the net, Elina Svitolina is chasing her first Rome title since 2018 and her third overall.
Before their third meeting of the season on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, here’s everything you need to know about Saturday’s final, from order of play to prize money and a championship preview.
When are the Rome singles and doubles finals?
Both finals will be played on Campo Centrale. The singles final is scheduled for 5 p.m. local time (4 p.m. BST, 11 a.m. EDT) on Saturday, May 16. The doubles final follows Sunday, May 17 at 12 p.m. local time (11 a.m. BST, 6 a.m. EDT).
How did each singles player reach the championship?
Coco Gauff
First Round: Bye
Second Round: def. Tereza Valentova 6-3, 6-4
Third Round: def. Solana Sierra 5-7, 6-0, 6-4
Fourth Round: def. No. 16 Iva Jovic 5-7, 7-5, 6-2
Quarterfinals: def. No. 8 Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
Semifinals: def. No. 26 Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3
Gauff is into her second final of 2026 after reaching the Miami championship match, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka. Last year’s runner-up has escaped several jams in her run to the final. She rallied from a double-break deficit in the third set against Sierra, saved match point against Jovic and came back from a set down for a third straight match against Andreeva.
Elina Svitolina
First Round: Bye
Second Round: def. Noemi Basiletti 6-1, 6-3
Third Round: def. No. 32 Hailey Baptiste 6-1, 6-2
Fourth Round: def. Nikola Bartunkova 6-2, 6-3
Quarterfinals: def. No. 2 Elena Rybakina 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
Semifinals: def. No. 4 Iga Swiatek 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
Svitolina cruised through her first three opponents before Rybakina stopped her cold in the opening set of the quarterfinals. But the two-time Rome champion responded, saving 16 of 20 break points to upset the World No. 2. Gauff backed it up with an even bigger win over Swiatek to reach her second WTA 1000 final of the season, following her runner-up finish in Dubai.
What ranking points and prize money are at stake?
In addition to the winner’s trophy, the singles champion will earn €1,055,285 (approx. $1.23 million USD), while the singles runner-up will receive €549,335 ($640,000). The doubles champions will take home €368,630 ($429,000), with the runners-up earning €195,160 ($227,000).
All prize money will be paid out in USD currency.
As with all WTA 1000 events, champions in both draws receive 1,000 ranking points toward the PIF WTA Rankings and the Race to the WTA Finals. Rankings movement is based on net gain from the previous year. Finalists receive 650 points.
A win would move Svitolina to No. 3 in the race (No. 4 with a loss). Gauff would rise from No. 8 to No. 5 in the race with a win, or to No. 6 with a loss.
Gauff vs. Svitolina championship preview
Saturday’s final sets up a compelling cat-and-mouse game between Gauff and Svitolina. Gauff has yet to win the champion’s trophy in Rome but owns the more recent experience in the final on Campo Centrale, having reached this stage last year. Svitolina hasn’t been here in eight years, yet the two-time Rome champion knows how to win in the Italian capital.
There will be no surprises between them. They’ve met five times, with Svitolina holding a 3-2 edge in the head-to-head rivalry after winning both of their matchups this season. Their most recent matchup, a chaotic Dubai semifinal, ended with Svitolina winning 6-4, 6-7 (13), 6-4, a match in which Gauff saved four match points in a 15-13 second-set tiebreak before falling in the decider.
Suffice to say, Svitolina knows what it will take to beat Gauff for a third straight time.
“I definitely have a game plan. Not now exactly, but I will have it,” she said of facing Gauff again. “We’ve played many times. It’s not a surprise. We both know the way we bring the fight. Our last match was something out of this world. I’m going to rewatch that to find the ways — some tactics. I want to enjoy this win tonight. Tomorrow it’s a day off so I can rest, prepare, and be ready for the final.”
Svitolina enters the final with plenty of momentum. Her two wins over Gauff this season are part of a 27-7 record, and she has already reached two WTA 1000 finals in 2026 — Dubai and now Rome. She also won the Auckland title in January. A victory Saturday would give the 31-year-old a milestone 20th career title.
Standing in her way is a confident, and therefore dangerous, Gauff.
“Overall, I feel like my game is getting better,” Gauff said after her semifinal win. “There are moments that I still can fine-tune and do better at. I definitely think it’s [headed] in the right direction.”
Gauff, like Svitolina, has an impressive record in WTA finals. She is 11-4 in championship matches, good for a 73% win rate that sits just behind Svitolina’s 79%. Three of those losses have come on clay, but she won her most recent final on the surface on the sport’s biggest stage at last year’s French Open. Svitolina, meanwhile, is a perfect 7-0 in WTA clay-court finals.
All signs point to a nail-biter deciding who reigns in Rome. So tune in Saturday and enjoy the show.
