With 16 matches on the slate on day three at WTA Rome, there should be no shortage of entertaining action for the fans watching at the Foro Italico. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match, including Coco Gauff vs Tereza Valentova, Aryna Sabalenka vs Barbora Krejcikova and Jasmine Paolini vs Leolia Jeanjean. But who will secure their spot in the third round?
WTA Rome Day 3 Predictions
Anastasia Zakharova vs Linda Noskova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Anastasia Zakharova’s first-round win over Dayana Yastremska was one of the more dramatic results of the week, coming back from 1-6 down in the final-set tiebreak to win seven consecutive points. Heading into that match, she had lost each of her three clay-court outings in 2026, including a 6-3 6-0 beating in Madrid against a much lower-ranked player. The quality she faces now is an entirely different level.
Linda Noskova arrived at this clay swing in solid form, reaching the quarterfinals in Stuttgart and going on to beat Coco Gauff in the Madrid round of 16, making the last eight there before losing to the eventual champion Kostyuk. The Czech’s big first strike and flat ball-striking are well-suited to the Roman clay. Zakharova’s comeback win is a nice story, but this is a significant step up.
Prediction: Noskova in 2
Belinda Bencic vs Bianca Andreescu
Head-to-head: Bencic 1-1 Andreescu
This is a genuinely open match between two players carrying very different baggage into Rome. Belinda Bencic enters with a 17-7 record in 2026, including a 4-2 mark on clay. However, she retired in the first round here last year and doesn’t have a strong record at this tournament.
Bianca Andreescu, meanwhile, has dealt with injury disruption throughout her career, and her first round victory over Kenin was only her second main-draw win on tour in 2026 though she did beat Vekic and Rybakina in Rome last year before a fourth-round exit. Andreescu’s movement and returning ability make her dangerous on this surface, and she has the match rhythm advantage from having already played here this week. Still, Bencic’s overall form and season record give her the edge — if she can stay healthy and build through the match, her consistency should be the deciding factor here at WTA Rome.
Prediction: Bencic in 3
Jelena Ostapenko vs Amanda Anisimova
Head-to-head: Anisimova 1-1 Ostapenko
Jelena Ostapenko came through her opening round against Italian wildcard Lucrezia Stefanini in just 54 minutes, dropping only one game in what was one of the most dominant first-round displays of the week. It was a reminder of just how destructive she can be on clay when she finds her range — 34 winners in under an hour is difficult for any opponent to absorb.
Amanda Anisimova is the higher seed at WTA Rome, but comes in with a significant question mark: she has not competed on clay at all heading into Rome, which is a real concern going up against an opponent who just turned in a vintage performance. Anisimova’s pedigree on clay is real, with a 65% career win rate on the surface but the lack of match time on clay this season, combined with Ostapenko’s inspired form in round one, makes the Latvian the more dangerous player right now.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 3
Mirra Andreeva vs Antonia Ruzic
Head-to-head: first meeting
Mirra Andreeva carries a 12-2 clay record into Rome, making her the player with the most wins on the surface during the 2026 WTA clay swing. She won the title in Linz, reached the semifinals in Stuttgart, and pushed all the way to the final in Madrid before losing to Marta Kostyuk, an outstanding run across three consecutive weeks.
Antonia Ruzic, meanwhile, holds an 11-13 overall record in 2026 and just a 3-4 mark on clay. She did beat Rakhimova in three sets in the first round here, which shows she can grind on this surface, but the step up in class is enormous. The 19-year-old Russian should have too much firepower and consistency from the baseline, and there is little in Ruzic’s recent results to suggest she can sustain pressure over three sets at this level.
Prediction: Andreeva in 2
Main photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
