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The Italian Open 2025 is set to get underway from Tuesday, May 6. All the leading ladies of the WTA Tour have gathered in Rome for the same. The recently concluded Madrid Open saw World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka beating Coco Gauff in the final to claim the title.
It was Sabalenka's third title in the Spanish capital as well as the third of the season. She has also reached the final of her last four tournaments. Iga Swiatek is the defending champion and is bidding to reach her first final of the season. She was the defending champion in Madrid and was shown the door by Gauff in the semifinals following a 6-1, 6-1 loss.
The women's singles draw of the Italian Open 2025 was unveiled on Monday, May 5. The tour's top three stars found out who they will have to go through to be the last woman standing in Rome. Following a first-round bye for the trio, here's a look at the projected paths to the final of the Italian Open 2025 for Gauff, Swiatek and Sabalenka:
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Coco Gauff's projected path to the final
Gauff will commence her campaign at the Italian Open 2025 against either wildcard Arianna Zucchini or a qualifier. Belinda Bencic or 32nd seed Magda Linette could await her in the third round. Both have beaten her this year, though the 21-year-old avenged her loss to the Swiss in Madrid.
Gauff's list of potential fourth-round opponents include 15th seed Amanda Anisimova, 21st seed Ekaterina Alexandrova and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu. She could bump into seventh seed Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals, a repeat of their Madrid Open showdown from a week ago.
Another rematch could be on the horizon for Gauff in the semifinals. She could meet top seed Sabalenka in the last four. She previously beat the Belarusian at the Italian Open 2021. A date with defending champion Swiatek could be on the cards in the final.
While Swiatek has won three titles in Rome, she hasn't reached a final this year. Should the trend continue, then Gauff could potentially meet someone like Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Karolina Muchova or Jasmine Paolini, or another player, in the final.
Iga Swiatek's projected path to the final
Swiatek will commence her title defense at the Italian Open against the winner of the match between Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Elina Avanesyan. A familiar face could await her in the third round in the form of 29th seed Danielle Collins.
Based on her draw, the in-form Elina Svitolina, seeded 16th, is likely to be Swiatek's fourth-round foe. The Ukrainian won the title in Rouen and reached the semifinals of the Madrid. She also won back-to-back Italian Open titles in 2017 and 2018.
Fifth seed Keys or ninth seed Paula Badosa are the top choices as Swiatek's possible quarterfinal opponents. Naomi Osaka, who recently claimed her first title on clay at the Challenger event in Saint-Malo, could continue her good run of form to make a deep run in Rome. She made the fourth round here a year ago and later held a match point against the Pole in the second round of the French Open.
Third seed Pegula, sixth seed Paolini and former Italian Open champion Ons Jabeur top the list of Swiatek's probable semifinal adversaries. Her nemesis Jelena Ostapenko could also pop up to bother her. However, her inconsistency makes it tough to predict her form.
Ostapenko beat Swiatek to win the title in Stuttgart but left the Madrid Open without a win. Either Sabalenka or Gauff are safe bets when it comes to guessing the Pole's prospective opponent in the final. Should either of them falter early on, then Andreeva, Zheng Qinwen or former champion Elena Rybakina could also await her in the summit clash.
Aryna Sabalenka's projected path to the final
Sabalenka will begin her quest for a maiden Italian Open title against either Anastasia Potapova or Dayana Yastremska. She's likely to face 31st seed Sofia Kenin in the third round. The American beat her in the second round here a couple of years ago.
24th seed Leylah Fernandez, 14th seed Daria Kasatkina or rising teen star Alexandra Eala could await Sabalenka in the fourth round. She could cross paths with Zheng or Rybakina in the quarterfinals. She leads the Chinese 6-0 in the head-to-head.
While Sabalenka has a 6-4 advantage against Rybakina, the latter has won four of their last six matches. Gauff or Andreeva could lie in wait for her in the semifinals, though Anisimova could also be another possible opponent, or even Alexandrova.
Sabalenka could set up a rematch of last year's Italian Open final if Swiatek is on the other side of the net once again. Should the defending champion make an early exit, then any one of Keys, Paolini, Pegula, Jabeur or Muchova could be her potential opponent in the championship round.
