Gauff vs. Paolini: Everything you need to know about the Rome final

It will be a buona festa on Saturday at the Foro Italico, as two Top 10 players square off in the women's singles final at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome.

The sixth WTA 1000 title of the season -- and the second on clay -- will be decided in Rome on May 17. For just the third time in the Open Era, an Italian woman will play for the trophy.

Rome: Draws | Scores | Order of play

No. 6 seed Jasmine Paolini will be the crowd favorite, as she has become the first home finalist on the women's side in more than a decade. Paolini will be going for her third WTA title, her second at WTA 1000 level and her first on clay.

To capture the title and thrill the home crowd, Paolini will have to get past No. 4 seed Coco Gauff of the United States. Gauff battled into her second straight WTA 1000 final of this year's clay-court swing, and she is seeking her 10th WTA title.

Here's what you need to know about Saturday's showdown on Campo Centrale:

When is the women's singles final?

The Internazionali BNL d'Italia women's singles final will be played on Saturday, May 17 at 5 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET).

The doubles final will take place the following day, Sunday, May 18 at 12 p.m. local time (6 a.m. ET).

What are the points and prize money at stake?

By making the Rome final, both Paolini and Gauff have assured themselves 650 PIF WTA ranking points and €456,735 in prize money.

The singles champion will increase those numbers. Whoever wins the final will pocket 1,000 ranking points and take home €877,390.

By reaching the final, Paolini has already guaranteed she will maintain her spot in the Top 5. A runner-up showing will keep her at No. 5, but if she wins the title, she will return to her career-high ranking of No. 4.

As for Gauff, she will return to her career-high of No. 2 in Monday's rankings, win or lose. 

How did Gauff and Paolini get here?

Gauff's season picked up a head of steam once she got onto the European clay. After a quarterfinal finish in Stuttgart, Gauff has now reached back-to-back WTA 1000 finals at Madrid and Rome. She is 11-2 on clay so far this year.

Her path to the Rome final, though, had a couple of bumps along the way. Gauff dropped her first set of the tournament to teenage qualifier Victoria Mboko. Then in the semifinals, she needed to grind through the longest main-draw match of the year -- a 3-hour and 32-minute late-night thriller over Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.

Gauff's run to the final:
1R: bye
2R: d. [Q] Victoria Mboko (#156) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
3R: d. [32] Magda Linette (#32) 7-5, 6-3
4R: d. Emma Raducanu (#49) 6-1, 6-2
QF: d. [7] Mirra Andreeva (#7) 6-4, 7-6(5)
SF: d. [8] Zheng Qinwen (#8) 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(4)

Meanwhile, Paolini thrilled her partisan crowds all fortnight, dropping only one set in the process (to Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals).

Coming into Rome, Paolini had not reached a final all season, but she was rejuvenated on her home soil. Paolini defeated three seeded players en route to the semifinals before ending the run of Peyton Stearns, who became the first player in the Open Era to win three consecutive third-set tiebreaks this fortnight.

Paolini's run to the final:
1R: bye
2R: d. Lulu Sun (#46) 6-4, 6-3
3R: d. [27] Ons Jabeur (#36) 6-4, 6-3
4R: d. [17] Jelena Ostapenko (#18) 7-5, 6-2
QF: d. [13] Diana Shnaider (#11) 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-2
SF: d. Peyton Stearns (#42), 7-5, 6-1

How do they stack up?

Gauff leads their head-to-head 2–1, but that edge comes with an asterisk: Paolini won their only meeting on clay -- and it wasn’t long ago.

Gauff took their first two encounters, both on hard courts, at Adelaide in 2021 and Cincinnati in 2023, where she went on to win her first WTA 1000 title.

But just last month in Stuttgart, Paolini earned her first win over Gauff with a 6–4, 6–3 victory on indoor clay at the WTA 500 event.

What milestones are at stake on Sunday?

This is a huge moment for Italy at their biggest tournament. Paolini is the first Italian women's singles finalist at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia since her doubles partner Sara Errani in 2014 (who finished runner-up to Serena Williams).

One more win would make Paolini the first Italian women's singles champion at this event since Raffaella Reggi in 1985, 40 years ago. Paolini, Errani and Reggi are the only Italian women to make this final in the Open Era.

Meanwhile, Gauff is the first American woman in nine years to reach the Rome final, and she is trying to claim the title for the United States once again. In 2016, Serena Williams defeated Madison Keys in an all-American Rome final.

And despite her clay-court proficiency (including a Roland Garros final in 2022), a victory on Saturday would be Gauff's first title on this surface since she won WTA 250 Parma in 2021.

More key stats and notable numbers

The 29-year-old Paolini became the third oldest woman to reach her first Rome final, younger only than Helga Masthoff (1971) and Li Na (2012).

And Paolini is the first Italian to reach multiple WTA 1000 finals since this tournament tier was introduced in 2009. Paolini was the champion at WTA 1000 Dubai last year.

Paolini now holds the best winning percentage of any Italian at WTA 1000 events (56.9%, 41-31), surpassing former US Open champion Flavia Pennetta.

As for 21-year-old Gauff, she has now become the youngest player to reach the singles finals at both Rome and Madrid in the same season.

A Rome semifinalist in 2021 and 2024, Gauff has won 17 matches at the tournament. In the Open Era, only Gabriela Sabatini won more main-draw matches at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia before turning 22 (Sabatini won 27 matches).

For the first time in her career, Gauff has registered four Top 10 wins on clay in a single season. She beat Mirra Andreeva and Iga Swiatek at Madrid, then added wins over Andreeva and Zheng Qinwen this fortnight in Rome.

What are they saying? 

Gauff and Paolini both spoke after their semifinal wins:

Gauff: "[The Stuttgart quarterfinal vs. Paolini] was a tough match. She played well. She's a tough opponent. I think especially here with the home crowd behind her, she's going to be playing some great tennis. I have to expect that.

"Hopefully I can bring a better level and hopefully win the title. If not, I'm proud just really of this [semifinal] match, too."

Paolini: "I think [2014 finalist Errani is] part of my team. She watched many, many matches. Last match she was a key part because she helped me a lot. ... It's amazing to be in the final as she did.

"[The 2024 season] gave me a lot of confidence that I have to remember, a lot of experience that I have under my belt. At the same time this year is another year. It's different, completely different story. ... [I'm] trying to repeat [to] myself, 'Look, remember that last year, we did an amazing year.'"