ROME — Tyra Caterina Grant is in demand at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
The 18-year-old Italian’s first career victory at her home tournament was a hard-fought one, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 over friend and compatriot Lisa Pigato in 2 hours and 2 minutes. Her post-match media commitments are just under half that length.
Eighteen Italian journalists had shown up to speak with Grant, and her press huddle was upgraded to a full conference. She made the rounds at Tennis Channel, SuperTennis and, of course, wtatennis.com, laughing, joking and switching effortlessly between Italian and English throughout.
It isn’t a new situation for Grant, who will face No. 10 seed Victoria Mboko in an intriguing first-time meeting in the second round. A former junior No. 2 who is already an Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion in girls’ doubles, Grant was born in Rome to an American father and an Italian mother. She grew up near Milan, but represented the United States as a junior.
She’s a dual citizen of both countries, and even now keeps separate Italian and American music playlists. After being courted by both the USTA and the Italian Tennis Federation, her decision to play under the Italian flag was announced 12 months ago.
Grant says it was never a dilemma — she was raised in Italy and feels both her tennis and her mindset are Italian — but with that choice came pressure. She was inescapable ahead of her Rome debut last year — she lost 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to Antonia Ruzic in the first round after holding two match points — and last September, after Grant was part of Italy’s winning Billie Jean King Cup team, FIT president Angelo Binaghi made no secret of his expectations.
“We’re banking heavily on her, but we’re not rushing,” he told Corriere Della Sera. “Tyra represents the cornerstone on which we can build the Italy of the future.”
For her part, Grant takes it in stride. Two of the most powerful tennis federations in the world fighting over you as a 17-year-old?
“I take it as a compliment,” she replied. And while she wasn’t ready last year — she remembers “running here and running there,” and everything around her being new and overwhelming — her win on Wednesday fits into her upward trajectory in 2026.
Here are three things to know about Grant, who is currently ranked No. 234.
She’s back on track after an injury setback
After climbing to a career high of No. 206 last November, Grant was scheduled to make her Grand Slam qualifying debut at the Australian Open — only to be sidelined by a shoulder injury. Her ranking fell — she has not made the Roland Garros qualifying cut, either — but she’s looking at the silver lining now.
“That was really sad,” she said. “But I think that gave me more weeks to prepare and to work on my physical in the gym — and I think that helped me a lot in these matches, especially on the clay swing. It was sad in the moment, but I think in the long run, it was the best thing that happened.”
The hard yards that Grant put in with coach Matteo Donati — who previously worked with Yulia Putintseva — have been paying off lately. Two weeks ago, she qualified for Madrid and then routed Elsa Jacquemot 6-1, 6-2 to notch her first-career main-draw win. Her defeat of Pigato has added a second immediately.
Grant is a childhood friend of Jannik Sinner
At the age of seven, Grant began training at the Piatti Tennis Center in Bordighera, and met a 14-year-old fellow student named Jannik Sinner for the first time. The pair have remained friends since, and Grant has had a frontrow seat as her fellow Italian ascended to ATP World No. 1.
“I had the chance to see him growing up and developing while I was growing up and developing,” she said. “And that was great for me — just seeing him daily, before knowing that he would become what he’s becoming. Just seeing a person that trains so hard and does the right things.”
Grant also observed Sinner’s confidence in his own path despite only reaching No. 133 in the junior rankings.
“He didn’t rush,” she said. “He didn’t have that many good results as juniors, but he just kept doing the right thing. He knew that was the right thing to do, and he just kept believing it. And eventually the results, obviously, are showing.”
Grant had to face her friend and doubles partner in the first round
Another longtime friend, Pigato, awaited Grant in the first round. This time last year, the pair played the doubles pre-qualifying of the tournament together — and went all the way to the second round of the main draw. Pigato — who made her own main-draw debut against Serena Williams at Parma 2021 — was also in good form this year, winning her first WTA 125 title in Madrid last month and entering Rome with a 2026 record of 27-7.
In the first set, that showed. Swarming the net, Pigato barely allowed Grant a foothold in the match. But slowly, the teenager began to use her heavy forehand to hold Pigato at bay.
“I know her really well, obviously,” Grant said. “Not only how she plays, but how she thinks. So I think that helped a bit.”
Ultimately, though, Grant’s tactical adjustments only came when she put her familiarity with Pigato out of her mind.
“At the end, I try to treat every match the same,” she said. “No matter whether I know how my opponent plays or not, in the end, probably I’m going to have to adjust. That’s what I had to do today as well. Just being neutral on how she plays and my past experiences with her helped me today to find a solution to win the match.
“The main difference between the first and second set was that I just didn’t give her the opportunity to step in the court. That’s what she was doing really well, just being aggressive, looking to come to the net a lot. Second and third set, I tried to be more aggressive.”
The dynamic of the match encapsulated what Grant loves about tennis. The daughter of a basketball player, she tried her hand at a range of sports as a child — but was drawn to the way in which tennis’s scoring system allows for dramatic comebacks.
“I like the fact that in any moment the match can turn around, like today,” Grant said. “Especially the way I play, the match often depends on me. And in tennis, there’s no time clock you have to watch. Whenever the match can turn around, you still have a chance to win.”
