Another clay tournament, another title for Iga Swiatek.
The world No. 1 and three-time French Open champion followed up her win at 1000-level Madrid earlier this month by nabbing the trophy at Rome — another 1000-level event — on Saturday. And while Swiatek was pushed to three sets during two matches during her run in Madrid — including during an epic final against No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka — she had no such challenges in Rome.
The 22-year-old rolled to the final, never losing a set or giving up more than eight total games in a match, and recorded a 6-4, 6-3 win over Coco Gauff in the semifinals. During Saturday’s championship match, Swiatek faced Sabalenka yet again but this meeting was far more one-sided.
Swiatek needed just under 90 minutes for the 6-2, 6-3 victory and to earn her third title in Rome. And in doing so, she became the first woman since Serena Williams in 2013 (and just the third woman ever) to win the “Dirt Double” of Madrid and Rome. She also cemented her status as the Queen of Clay and the overwhelming favorite for the title at Roland Garros.
Alexa, play “Unstoppable” by Sia 🎶@iga_swiatek | #IBI24 pic.twitter.com/BDRJjCyNAu
— wta (@WTA) May 18, 2024
Even Sabalenka couldn’t help but acknowledge Swiatek’s dominance on the clay and at the upcoming major during her on-court speech in Rome.
“I hope we’re going to make it to the final in Roland Garros, and I’m going to get you there,” Sabalenka said to Swiatek. “Just kidding. I’m just going to try to do better than today.”
The increasingly confident Swiatek responded in her own speech moments later, “We’ll see about that Roland Garros final.”
Here’s what else you might have missed from Rome and around the tennis world last week:
Sabalenka still wins (sort of)
Sure, Sabalenka lost to Swiatek on Saturday for the second straight final and fell to 3-8 all-time against her rival, but she still managed to have the funniest — and most viral — moment of the match.
During her runner-up speech, Sabalenka hilariously thanked her team for “helping me lose another final.” As the crowd — and her good-natured team — laughed, Sabalenka added, “That’s all your fault, guys.”
“I want to thank my team for helping me lose another final. That’s all your fault” 😂@SabalenkaA | #IBI24 pic.twitter.com/Bju63Ln7QI
— wta (@WTA) May 18, 2024
Considering she had an impressive tournament overall — with victories over Elina Svitolina, Jelena Ostapenko and the red-hot
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