On a radiant evening at the Foro Italico, Jasmine Paolini etched her name into tennis history. With a 6-4, 6-2 victory over world No. 3 Coco Gauff, the 29-year-old Italian captured the biggest title of her career at the 2025 Italian Open. In front of a roaring home crowd and under immense pressure, Paolini delivered a near-flawless performance, becoming the first Italian woman since Raffaella Reggi in 1985 to win in Rome and the first in the WTA 1000 era.
Gauff caught flat-footed early
Coco Gauff entered the final as the favorite. A Grand Slam champion and one of the tour’s most consistent performers this season. But from the opening games, she looked unsure against the aggressive, compact game of Paolini. The Italian dictated the tempo with smart, sharp angles and broke twice at the beginning to seal the opening set in 54 minutes. Gauff, who served at only 51% on first serves in the first set and committed 4 doubles fault, simply couldn’t find her rhythm.
“I felt like I didn’t start the way I needed to,” Gauff said in the post-match interview. “She was super clean, super aggressive.”
A less tight second set
The second set also saw Paolini start strongly, breaking Gauff twice quickly. With 75% first serves and 57% points won behind his two serves, Paolini kept the momentum and the pressure on the American’s shoulders.
A final mistake by her opponent saw the Italian convert her first championship point.
The growth continues for Paolini
This title isn’t a surprise. Paolini, after some difficulties in Australia and in the Middle East, managed to bounce back and reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells and Stuttgart. In Rome, she never lost heart, dropping just one set in her toughest match of the fortnight against Shnaider. With this result, Paolini will enter Roland-Garros as one of the most in-form players on clay. Paolini’s win marks her third title in singles, the second WTA 1000 after Dubai in 2024 and after a WTA 250 in Portorož. This victory sees her once again ranked 4th in the world, ahead of Iga Swiatek.
“I don’t know if the little girl who came to see this tournament would have believed it. To find myself up against you today is a surprise. These two weeks have been a dream.”
Paired with Sara Errani, Paolini will also contest the doubles final this Sunday.
What it means going forward
For Gauff, it’s another missed opportunity to add a big clay title to her résumé, but she leaves Rome with solid preparation for Roland-Garros. The American make to much unforced errors (55) and conceded 5 of his 9 sets today. Her serve remains an issue under pressure (7 double faults in the final) but her movement and groundstrokes were solid throughout the week.
For Paolini, the sky now looks a little closer. Her win on home soil will go down as one of the most iconic moments in Italian tennis history. And with Roland-Garros, where she’s the actual finalist, the question if she can become a Grand Slam champion is real.