Coco Gauff has been in fine form recently and looks to be a strong favorite for the title in Rome.
The American kicked off her Italian Open campaign with a three-set win over Canadian youngster Victoria Mboko, and never looked back.
Magda Linette was beaten in the third round, before Gauff took down Emma Raducanu, 6-1, 6-2, to advance to the quarterfinals.
There, Gauff beat Mirra Andreeva for the second tournament in a row, coming through a 6-4, 7-6 winner against the Russian teenager.
She’ll now prepare for her semi-final match against either Aryna Sabalenka or Qinwen Zheng.
During her post-match media obligations, Gauff explained how she’ll feel if she has to play world number one Sabalenka in her next match.
Coco Gauff would ‘like’ to play Aryna Sabalenka and get her ‘revenge’ in Rome
The 21-year-old was asked whether she’d prefer to play Sabalenka or Zheng in her Italian Open semi-final match.
“I don’t have a preference, to be honest. They’re both tough players. It’s going to be a tough match regardless of who I play,” said Gauff.
“Obviously, I would maybe like to play Aryna [Sabalenka] because I just played her in Madrid, just to get some revenge.
“Obviously, Qinwen [Zheng] is tough to play. I have no preference. It’s going to be a tough, hard match either way.”
Gauff beat Zheng in their most recent encounter at the 2024 WTA Finals, winning a thriller in Saudi Arabia.
The American is unbeaten against Zheng (2-0) on the WTA Tour, just as she is against Andreeva (5-0).
Gauff was asked whether she believes having a positive head-to-head record helps her when playing important matches.
“I mean, honestly I don’t think about the head-to-head so much,” she said.
“Especially when you’re playing someone younger, you know that they can improve so much in a little bit of time. I mean, I think about my game compared to when I was her age to now, it’s a lot different.
“Yes, it’s good. Also, at the same time, when I go on court, I treat each match like a new match and expect her to be better than the last time we played.”
Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka’s head-to-head record
Should Sabalenka make her way past Zheng in the quarterfinals, she’d set up an 11th career meeting with Gauff.
In one of the most fiercely contested rivalries in women’s tennis, nothing has separated the pair through ten matches, with the head-to-head level at 5-5.
| Match | Surface | Winner | Loser | Score |
| 2025 Madrid Open – F | Clay | Aryna Sabalenka | Coco Gauff | 6-3, 7-6 |
| 2024 WTA Finals – SF | Hard | Coco Gauff | Aryna Sabalenka | 7-6, 6-3 |
| 2024 Wuhan – SF | Hard | Aryna Sabalenka | Coco Gauff | 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 |
| 2024 Australian Open – SF | Hard | Aryna Sabalenka | Coco Gauff | 7-6, 6-4 |
| 2023 US Open – F | Hard | Coco Gauff | Aryna Sabalenka | 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 |
| 2023 Indian Wells – QF | Hard | Aryna Sabalenka | Coco Gauff | 6-4, 6-0 |
| 2022 Toronto – 3R | Hard | Coco Gauff | Aryna Sabalenka | 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 |
| 2021 Rome – 3R | Clay | Coco Gauff | Aryna Sabalenka | 7-5, 6-3 |
| 2020 Ostrava – 2R | Hard | Aryna Sabalenka | Coco Gauff | 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 |
| 2020 Lexington – 2R | Hard | Coco Gauff | Aryna Sabalenka | 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 |
Sabalenka beat Gauff last time out at the Madrid Open, in just their second match on the clay.
Gauff may, however, take some comfort from the result of their first clay-court encounter, when she won in Rome four years ago.
There would also be an added layer of intrigue should the pair face off in Rome this year, as Sabalenka and Gauff will be ranked world number one and two next week.
Gauff currently trails her Belarusian rival by over 4,000 points, but would begin to haul back the deficit if she were to win the Italian Open title.
It remains to be seen who will come out on top in Rome, but it’ll certainly be worth tuning in for.
Gauff will take on either Zheng or Sabalenka in the Italian Open semi-finals on Thursday, May 15.
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