Rome Previews & Picks: Ostapenko vs. Paolini, Gauff vs. Raducanu, Berrettini vs. Ruud

Jasmine Paolini vs. Jelena Ostapenko

The Italian and the Latvian bring very different energies to the court, and to their games. Paolini is the smiling speedster with the whippy topspin strokes. Ostapenko is the woman of many expressions who never saw a call she couldn’t question, and who crunches every ball she sees as hard and flat as possible.

They’ve played twice at the WTA level, and Ostapenko has won both times; earlier this year in Doha, she beat her handily, 6-2, 6-2. If Ostapenko’s shots are clicking, she’ll have the advantage over Paolini when it comes to pace every time. But as her 13-10 record on the season shows, her shots are not always clicking.

Both of these players have been in form of late. Ostapenko beat Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka back to back to win Stuttgart, while Paolini has reached a couple of significant semifinals. Ostapenko is a Roland Garros champion, but this time the surface, and the pro-Italian crowd, may be to Paolini’s advantage. Winner: Paolini

Coco Gauff vs. Emma Raducanu

Gauff and Raducanu are former US Open champions who are still surprisingly young—the Brit is 22, the American 21. They’re also the best-known tennis players from their respective nations. But they’ve only met once, at the Australian Open in 2023, and Gauff came away a winner in two competitive sets.

While Gauff is ranked 46 spots higher, both are playing promising tennis at the moment. Coco just made the Madrid final; Raducanu was a quarterfinalist in Miami, and has three wins on the week in Rome. On a good day, Raducanu’s clean hitting and easy pace from both sides could make life difficult for Gauff. But the opposite is also true; if Gauff settles in defensively, she could make Raducanu hit one more ball than she wants to, and one more ball than she can keep in the court. Winner: Gauff

Read more: Emma Raducanu shares her go-to pasta order after winning week in Rome

Casper Ruud vs. Matteo Berrettini

Three or four years ago, Ruud and Berrettini looked like they might be meeting in Grand Slam finals by now. Ruud reached three of them in 2022 and 2023, while Berrettini made one in 2021. But their progress has stalled since, Berrettini from injury, Ruud from surprising inconsistency and burnout. They haven’t faced off in any round since 2023. Now Berrettini is (relatively) healthy physically, Ruud is healthy mentally, and they’ll open the night session on Monday. If their 2020 clash in Rome, which went to a third-set tiebreaker, is any indication, this could be a good one.

Ruud won that match, and he leads Berrettini 4-3 overall, and 3-1 on clay. Ruud will have momentum from his recent title in Madrid, while Berrettini will use the crowd to create his own positive energy. Ruud is the better clay-courter, but will he be tired from Madrid, and from a three-set win over Alexander Bublik in his opener? Berrettini has the skills to take advantage of a letdown, and he’ll surely want to make his first appearance in front of the home folks in Rome since 2021 last as long as it can. Winner: Berrettini