Tennis: Italy vs USA, may the best win!

May 17, 2025 236

BY: We the Italians Editorial Staff

The Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome is about to wrap up, with a huge turnout and an increasingly stunning setting that has brought Rome back to the center of the tennis world. Especially because Italy is now a global leader in the sport.

Between yesterday and today, Italy and the United States have faced off twice. Yesterday, the world’s number one men’s tennis player, Italy’s Jannik Sinner, played the semifinal against American Tommy Paul, ranked 12th in the world. Paul won the first set, but then Sinner showed why he’s number one, dominating the second set 6-0 and closing the match with a 6-3 win in the third.

Tomorrow, Sinner will face the only player who currently seems capable of beating him—at least on clay, the surface used in Rome: Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz. It’s been 47 years since an Italian made it to the final in Rome—back in 1978, when Adriano Panatta lost to Sweden’s Bjorn Borg. The last Italian to win the Italian Open was also Panatta, who took the title in 1976 against Argentina’s Guillermo Vilas.

But before tomorrow’s men’s final, today is the women’s final—and it’s also Italy vs. USA. Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, ranked number 5 in the world, will take on America’s Coco Gauff, world number 3. They’ve played three times before, with Gauff winning twice, but Paolini defeated her earlier this season in Stuttgart. Today and tomorrow, may the best player win!

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