When in Rome - Issue #36

With the last big tournament before Roland Garros underway, we're looking at the best WTA moments from Rome in week one.

Written by Dove Sallow

With the WTA in Rome, we’re getting closer to reaching the end of the road to Roland Garros. The first week of the tournament has been interesting, to say the least. Aryna Sabalenka losing in the 2nd round to Sofia Kenin wasn't on anyone's radar. And I’m pretty sure most people expected Barbora Krejcikova to make it to the 2nd week, given that the conditions in Rome are pretty similar to where she won her maiden Grand Slam title - Roland Garros. Additionally, watching Ons Jabeur bow out in the 2nd round of the tournament was tough. Her season has been plagued by injuries. But beyond that, playing Paula Badosa on clay is never an easy task. We also saw two South American women playing in the 4th round, with Beatriz Haddad Maia and Camila Osorio both playing spectacular tennis. And of course, we can’t talk about women’s tennis without mentioning Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina. This week, we're taking a look at some of the best matches, most shocking upsets, and standout moments we've seen in Rome so far.

Aryna Sabalenka’s loss to Sofia Kenin

Obviously, I have to start by discussing Sabalenka's loss to Kenin. We all know that Sofia is a tremendous player when she's on. But Sabalenka has been in the form of her life this season and was coming off a title win in Madrid. Although this upset came completely out of left field, in a strange way, it made sense. Kenin is exactly the type of player who has the belief to take out an in form Aryna. So much of playing Sabalenka is about just hanging in there and waiting for the storm to pass. You have to believe you can win, even when she's blowing you off the court. Kenin has some of the most unshakable belief in herself that I've ever seen on a tennis court. Over the course of her young career, we've seen highs and lows. But through all those moments, we saw a young woman who was afraid of nothing and no one. She plays each point like it's her last and pushes herself to play her best in the big moments. There were so many important points in that first set when Kenin could've withered away. Instead, she threw up moonballs to disrupt Sabalenka's rhythm, hit angels to pull her off the court, and made her uncomfortable however she could. Aryna wasn't at her best. But that takes nothing away from what Sofia was able to pull off. Over the last few years, she's gone through injuries, split with her father as her coach, and reunited with her father as her coach. When you take into account that she won the Australian Open so young, it's a lot for any young athlete to go through. After such a tumultuous last few years, it was great to see her winning at the highest level again. The American has one of the most resilient mindsets on tour and we'd be lucky to see more of it in the latter stages of big tournaments this year. As for Sabalenka, the world knows she can play a lot better. The positive to take for her is that she'll have some extra time to rest and prepare for Roland Garros. The conditions are similar to Rome, albeit the clay at Roland Garros is typically in better condition and much smoother. But Rome gave her a taste of what to prepare for - slow courts that she can't necessarily bulldoze her way through as easily as she'd like. But this is a new Aryna Sabalenka we're seeing in 2023. I expect her to rise to the occasion and play her best when it matters most.

Jelena Ostapenko stuns Barbora Krejčíková

Barbora Krejčíková's loss to Jelena Ostapenko was another interesting match. I'm not going to call this one an "upset." Is it ever really an upset when Jelena Ostapenko beats someone ranked higher than her? With her game style and natural-born ability to club the ball, she's always been able to beat anyone in the world. She is a Roland Garros Champion after all. Ostapenko has said many times that clay is her favorite surface. But Barbora also has a lot of love for both Roland Garros and red clay, being a Roland Garros Champion herself. I think a lot of people just expected Barbora would make something happen this week. It's the last big event before Paris and Barbora's game is so perfectly suited to the slow clay. The match started with Barbora up 5-1 in the first set and hardly losing points. But Ostapenko lifted her level out of seemingly nowhere to win the first set. She hit winner after winner and painted line after line. She ended up winning 12 of the last 13 games to win the match. In the second set, Jelena lost a total of six points. I'm still in bewilderment as to how someone can go through such drastic highs and lows in a single match. But that's exactly what makes Jelena so special. You never know what to expect. The fate of each match she plays is entirely up to her. She has the type of power and timing that every tennis player dreams of having. When she uses it properly and gets everything right, she's immaculate in every way. Barbora was unable to find any type of rhythm as the match went on. It's difficult to play someone who's so streaky, so I don't think you can even say Krejčíková did a ton of things wrong. She was at the mercy of Ostapenko's glory... a very dangerous position to be in. After beating Daria Kasatkina, Jelena is now in the quarterfinals. It's difficult to say how far she'll go this week, because you'd be foolish to try to predict anything when it comes to Ostapenko. But we know that her highest level is on another level than almost everyone else's. Can she sustain it for the rest of the week? I sure hope so. A ballstriker like her is rare. But a personality as fresh as hers is even rarer.

Ons Jabeur’s return from injury cut short by Paula Badosa

Ons Jabeur was definitely on the receiving end of some bad luck when it came to the draw in Rome. It's hard enough to come back from an injury. Having to play Paula Badosa in her first match back was one of the toughest draws she could've received. Paula's fall from the top 10 takes nothing away from how great of a player she is. She was never fully healthy last year and suffered from some mental fatigue. And this year, she couldn't defend a large number of her points because she got injured at the beginning of the Australian swing. This year, Paula is back to playing the type of tennis that made her the 2021 Indian Wells Champion. For Ons to have to play her on clay in her first match back was always going to be an uphill battle. Paula is one of the best movers on this surface and hits her forehand with a heaviness that does a lot of damage on clay. Ons never looked fully comfortable in this match and just couldn't get anything going. Badosa hit some great forehand winners and didn't give Jabeur any cheap points. That's the Spanish mindset - build the point with heavy, grinding baseline rallies and play with high percentage aggression when you can. It's a flawless tactic on clay that Badosa does phenomenally. When you add that to her mental strength and willingness to fight like her life depends on it, she's reminiscent of a female Rafa Nadal when she's at her best. Paula will face Karolina Muchova tomorrow, as their quarterfinal match became the victim of a rain delay. But if she continues playing at the level she has been all week, I wouldn't be shocked if she pulls off a great result here in Rome and has a deep run at Roland Garros. As for Jabeur, this season has not been kind to her. If you want proof that life is unfair... this is it. She had surgery at the start of the year because she got injured right before the Australian Open. She returns to action and wins Charleston by playing some of the best clay court tennis of anyone all year, but gets injured in Stuttgart. Watching her cry on court when she retired to Iga Swiatek in the first set literally ruined my day. Seeing Jabeur cry is like seeing a puppy in pain. She's one of the nicest people on the planet and doesn't deserve to go through constant injuries. But I have so much faith in Ons, as I'm sure a lot of people do. Her game is one that can win her Grand Slams on any surface and can trouble anyone. She's entirely unique and makes our sport better in every way. To be frank, tennis needs Ons more than she needs tennis. So let's hope she gets back on the court soon and can remain healthy for the rest of the season.

Coco Gauff stumbles against Marie Bouzková

One of the biggest upsets of the week came at the hands of Marie Bouzková when she beat Coco Gauff in the 3rd round. Marie played a clean, solid match and did well to come back from a set down. But Coco looked pretty lost on the court. Her forehand has been a topic of discussion for some time now. With how her last few tournaments have gone, I don't think that discussion will be dying down any time soon. Bouzková is a player that makes you hit a ton of balls. She's a crafty counterpuncher who's constantly asking questions of her opponents. She directed so many balls at Coco's forehand, waiting for it to break down. As the match went on, I began to hold my breath whenever Coco hit a forehand. Granted, it wasn't as bad as I've seen it in some matches. But when the score is close or it's an important point, you can almost feel that a forehand error is coming. Gauff also didn't have her best serving day; however, Bouzková gets a ton of serves back in play on this surface regardless. Coco was always going to have to win this match by playing long rallies. She doesn't get as much out of her serve on a slow clay court and she doesn't have the firepower on the forehand wing to repeatedly hit winners. Her backhand is brilliant, but you need to have a steady forehand if you're going to rely so heavily on your defense. I don't think we can blame all her forehand troubles on the extreme western grip. There are plenty of players that use that grip who have great forehands (world #1 Iga Swiatek is one of them). Gauff often catches the ball late on her forehand wing. On clay, she should have plenty of time to set up for her forehand. Sadly, that wasn't the case against Bouzková. The forehand is a shot that players need to finish rallies. Even players who greatly prefer their backhands need to feel confident enough in their forehand to finish points. Gauff needs to find that confidence once again. This was definitely not the way she wanted her clay season to go. She has a lot of points to defend, as she made the Roland Garros Final last year. But we all know Coco has the ability to make another deep run at Roland Garros. It's a matter of whether or not she'll find it in time for Paris. But if she doesn't, she's still only 19 years old. She's miles ahead of most teenagers and will continue to have opportunities based on her athletic ability alone. There's a reason we've been so intrigued by this teenager for the last 5 years... I think she'll be just fine.

Beatriz Haddad Maia & Camila Osorio reaching the Round of 16

Two players who definitely deserve some attention are Beatriz Haddad Maia and Camila Osorio. Based off the sheer fact that Brazil and Colombia do not have rich histories of producing top tennis players, these two meeting each other in the round of 16 was already an accomplishment. Two South American women who play with so much pride and heart, facing off in a historic city like Rome was just beautiful to see. Even though Haddad Maia ended up winning the match in straight sets, Osorio had a great run. She defeated #5 seed Caroline Garcia to notch the first top 10 win of her career. Whenever Osorio plays, I try to tune in. And I'm not the only one. It feels like she always has a large crowd following her at every tournament she plays - even on outside courts. That's something you certainly don't see every day. It's hard enough to get support even as a top player. It just shows that Camila is doing something right. People gravitate towards her energy and overall feistiness. Her game is great for clay. The serve isn't as much of a factor as it is on the faster surfaces, which evens the playing field a bit. Camila is able to use her drop shots, slices, and talent for constructing points at full capacity. Then you have Bia, who's still in the tournament. She's played some of the most brilliant tennis of anyone these last few seasons. Bia has beaten 6 top 10 players since 2022. That statistic speaks for itself. Her serve is powerful and her groundstrokes are heavy. Bia is one of the best movers I've seen out of players 6 feet tall and up. But beyond her obvious athleticism, she has a fighting spirit that's so often associated with Brazilian culture. Similar to Osorio, Bia has so many devoted supporters and she deserves every single one of them. Any player who comes from an underrepresented country and achieves the things that she's achieving needs to be applauded. Both Haddad Maia and Osorio are fearless examples of female trailblazers in sport. When they win a match, it's not just a win for them - it's a win for the Brazilians and Colombians at home who are glued to their TV screens. I commend both of them for every step they've taken in their careers to get to this point, and I know they'll keep stepping in the right direction.

Iga Swiatek & Elena Rybakina on a collision course

Lastly, it wouldn't be right to talk about a WTA 1000 without mentioning the two most in-form women in the draw - Iga Świątek and Elena Rybakina. Neither of them has had a particularly crazy match yet. Iga defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-0, 6-0 in her 2nd round match. I guess you could classify that as crazy. But she followed that up with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Lesia Tsurenko. With a loss of just 2 games across 4 sets and 2 matches, Świątek is becoming known for performances like these ones. Pavlyuchenkova hasn't fully gotten back in the groove since returning from injury. But a 6-0, 6-0 loss is not something you'd expect from a woman who reached the Roland Garros Final in 2021. That's not an attack on Anastasia at all. It's more of a testament to how impenetrable Iga Świątek has become, particularly on clay courts. Her heavy forehand is a lethal weapon on this surface and her defense makes it a tough task to even win points against her. She makes her opponents work for every single thing they get. It's demoralizing and exhausting after a while. Iga's athleticism is second to none and it's amplified ten fold on slow clay courts like the ones in Rome. Her 4th round match against Donna Vekić was postponed til tomorrow due to rain. Then you have Elena Rybakina, whose clay season hasn't been ideal. She suffered an injury in Stuttgart and lost in the 2nd round in Madrid. She really hasn't gotten the chance to get into match rhythm on this surface. Elena looked shaky against Jasmine Paolini in her first match in Rome. She didn't get to play more than 7 games against Anna Kalinskaya because Anna got injured at the start of the match. It actually came as a shock to a lot of people when Rybakina beat Markéta Vondroušová in straight sets in the 4th round. Markéta has been playing inspired tennis, defeating Maria Sakkari and Bianca Andreescu both in straight sets. At the start of the match, the win probability meter on TV gave Rybakina only a 38% chance of winning. But Rybakina just loves proving people wrong. The Kazakh played her best clay court match of the season and looked like she found her self-belief. Her serve and groundstrokes were enormous and forceful enough to prevent Marketa from constructing points the way she likes to. This is exactly the type of tennis Elena needs to play to go deep in clay court events. It's a bit more challenging for her, but she's shown she can hit through slow conditions before. She played a brilliant match a few years ago when she beat Serena Williams at Roland Garros. Obviously, we all remember how she played on the slow courts of Indian Wells this year. Clay is definitely more of a challenge for Rybakina to hit through, but nothing is impossible for a ballstriker of her caliber. If Iga Swiatek wins her 4th round match against Vekić, tennis fans will get the Rybakina vs Świątek showdown on clay they've all been waiting for. Given the surface, you'd have to give Iga the edge going into that match. But Elena is one of the few players who has the ability to hit Iga off the court - even on clay. Everything has to go right for her and she needs to remember to pack her serve. It's unquestionably the greatest weapon in women's tennis right now. If we do end up getting to see that match, it'll be more than worth watching. These two women, along with Aryna Sabalenka, are defining the 2023 season. When they play, the world watches.