En route to upsetting Gauff, Svitolina went past Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals and Iga Swiatek in the semifinals. At the press conference after her win, she was asked whether she would have believed in herself had someone told her she could win a WTA 1000 title and get back to the top 10 after pregnancy.

Well, I think I would sign for it, for sure. When I was coming back, for me was important just to give myself a good chance to play the highest level. I was never thinking about that I could come back. In a way, it came later. I think it was by the stages.

Svitolina and husband Gael Monfils welcomed their first child, Skai, on October 15, 2022. She returned to the tour in April following year. This year, she and Belinda Bencic made history by becoming the first mothers to reach the top 10 rankings.

Of course, you need to believe it to make it happen. Slowly, little by little, I was believing in it. Of course, very proud of the effort, very proud of also coming back from the surgery. I had a surgery two years ago, which was not easy. First one for me, too. Yeah, I had some ups and downs with little stops here and there.

At present, Svitolina, a former World No.3, stands in the seventh spot in the rankings table. Gauff is occupying the fourth spot.

The American ace, who played her second final of the season in Rome following the Miami Open (lost to Aryna Sabalenka), will next be bidding to defend her title at the French Open. She beat the four-time Major singles champion in the final last year.

The only Grand Slam tournament where Elina Svitolina has not yet played the semifinals is the French Open. She is a five-time quarterfinalist, also reaching the stage last year (lost to Iga Swiatek).

Of course, it gives me a lot of confidence. It gives me a good idea for Roland Garros, but still, I want to focus and work hard, prepare from the first round. There are very tough players; you can't underestimate them. You have to be ready for the first-round matches, big battles. They are all there to beat you. They have nothing to lose, so you have to expect tough matches. For me, it's about taking it match by match, giving it my all, and having a good chance to compete well.

The Rome title was Svitolina's second title of the season. Svitolina lifted the ASB Classic by defeating Wang Xinyu, but lost the Dubai Tennis Championships to Jessica Pegula.

The 31-year-old is now a five-time champion in WTA 1000s. Apart from the two Italian Opens, the Ukrainian ace lifted the 2017 Dubai Tennis Championships and the Canadian Open the same year.

Coco Gauff was chasing her fourth WTA 1000 singles title. Gauff played the final in the Italian capital last year as well, but failed to go past home favorite Jasmine Paolini.

The 22-year-old has not yet tasted success since the 2025 Wuhan Open. Last year on the clay swing, apart from the Italian Open and the French Open, Gauff also made the final in Madrid, but failed to go past Aryna Sabalenka.

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