Coco Gauff does the impossible — Breaks WTA record after epic Italian Open victory

Gauff sets new WTA record after reaching Italian Open final

Coco Gauff has reached the final of the Italian Open for a second straight year.

The American, who lost to Jasmine Paolini in last season’s championship match, beat 26th seed Sorana Cirstea in the semifinals to advance.

Gauff won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, over Cirstea, who had previously knocked world number one Aryna Sabalenka out of the competition.

This is now Gauff’s second final appearance of 2024. She came up short at the Miami Open earlier this season and will be hoping for a different outcome this time around.

Along her path to the final in Rome, Gauff just set a new WTA record with her victory over Cirstea.

Coco Gauff moves past Iga Swiatek in WTA clay record

Gauff’s win over Cirstea was her 34th at a clay-court WTA 1000 event, according to Opta Ace, and she’s now the new record holder for the most such victories before turning 23.

The previous record belonged to Iga Swiatek, who had 33 wins by that age. Gauff still has just under a year left before her next birthday and could push the mark even higher.

Not far behind is Mirra Andreeva, who only recently turned 19 and already sits third on the all-time list with 21 wins.

Rounding out the top five are Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki, with 18 and 16 wins respectively.

How Gauff’s Italian Open title defence has unfolded so far

Gauff kicked off her title defence at the 2026 Italian Open with a routine win over Tereza Valentova, but the road quickly became tougher from there.

The American then found herself having to rally from a set down in three straight matches, starting with Solana Sierra.

She also dropped the opening sets against Iva Jovic and Mirra Andreeva in the following rounds, but managed to turn both of those matches around as well.

Now through to another final, Gauff will face either Swiatek or Elina Svitolina for a chance to defend her title in Rome. A win would give her first trophy since lifting the Wuhan Open last season.

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