At the second consecutive WTA 1000 tournament, Iga Swiatek secured victory in the final against Aryna Sabalenka, adding to her Mutua Madrid Open title with another triumph at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Just two weeks after their thrilling encounter in Madrid, where Swiatek emerged victorious in three sets, the Polish player continued her winning streak with a convincing 6-2 6-3 win over Sabalenka in Rome. This marked the second time since the WTA 1000 format’s inception in 2009, that the same pair met in consecutive finals; the first instance was 11 years ago when Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova faced off in Miami and Madrid.
Swiatek secured victory over Sabalenka for the eighth time in their 11 meetings, requiring just 1 hour and 29 minutes to do so. The Pole asserted her dominance in the first set, winning an impressive 89% of points on her first serve.
In the second set, Sabalenka started strong, hitting winners and creating her first break point opportunities of the match. The Belarusian earned five chances to break for a 2-0 lead. However, she was unable to convert any of them against Swiatek, who leads the tour this season in saving break points. Sabalenka also couldn’t capitalize on the two additional ones she earned later in the second set.
This marked the fourth meeting on clay between Swiatek and Sabalenka as the world number one and two, a milestone that equals the record set by Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova for the most meetings on this surface between the top-ranked players in the past 40 years on the WTA Tour.
Swiatek remains undefeated in Rome finals, boasting a perfect 3-0 record with titles in 2021, 2022, and now in 2024. Winning her ninth consecutive singles final, the 22-year-old collected her 21st career WTA singles title and fourth in 2024.
