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Iga Swiatek won her second straight WTA 1000 title of the year, beating World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the 2024 Italian Open on Saturday. The Pole has now beaten Sabalenka in two straight finals, having beaten the Belarusian at the Madrid Open earlier this month.
Swiatek, a two-time former winner in Rome before today, began the first set in dominating fashion, breaking early for a 3-1 lead. Serving exceptionally well on the night, the World No. 1 consolidated the break with a hold, then breaking again to seal off the set 6-2 in her favor.
The second set was more evenly contested to begin with, as both players held strong on their serves until 3-3. At that point, Swiatek stepped on the gas just as Sabalenka was taken over by nerves in unexpected fashion. The World No. 1 broke her opponent's serve two times on the trot to finish the set 6-3 and take home her third Italian Open title in an hour and 30 minutes.
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The win marked Swiatek's 10th WTA 1000 career title and fourth of the year, having previously won at Indian Wells and Qatar before Madrid. She now has 25 WTA Tour titles, including four Grand Slams (three French Opens and one US Open) and one WTA Finals trophy.
The head-to-head between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka is now 8-3 in favor of the Pole, with Swiatek winning their last three meetings. Only one of those three victories for Sabalenka has come on clay, in the final of the 2023 Madrid Open.
Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka now move on to French Open 2024
Following their battle at the Italian Open, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka will move to Paris for the 2024 French Open.
Swiatek is the defending champion at Roland Garros, having beaten Karolina Muchova in the final last year. Sabalenka, meanwhile, reached the semifinals at the tournament in 2023 before losing to Muchova.
With the title in Rome, Swiatek has extended her lead over Sabalenka at the top of the WTA rankings and has more than 11,500 points. The Belarusian holds just over 8,100.
Coco Gauff, who reached the semifinals at the Italian Open before falling to Swiatek, stays No. 3 with 7,600 ranking points, while Elena Rybakina remains World No. 4 with 5,600 points.
