The 2026 Italian Open Women’s draw has been revealed, and World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is primed to win her first title in the Eternal City.

She’ll have to get past defending champ Jasmine Paolini, 2025 French Open champion Coco Gauff, and a host of others vying for the final WTA 1000 before the 2026 French Open.

Read on as we break down the 2026 Italian Open Women’s draw, beginning May 6, 2026.

Sabalenka’s Quarter

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka seeks her maiden Italian Open title, and here are the main stumbling blocks to reaching the quarters.

Players who could disrupt Sabalenka’s run include:

• Linda Noskova
• Clara Tauson
• Belinda Bencic
• Lois Boisson
• Anna Kalinskaya
• Jelena Ostapenko
• Amanda Anisimova

Sabalenka’s quarter looks fairly straightforward. She’s a former finalist, and not much is standing in her way from reaching at least the QF.

Tauson has been spotty. Bencic can push back. Boisson has the game, but hasn’t played much.

Kalinskaya can battle. Ostapenko is a former French Open champ, and Anisimova is still searching to find her 2025 form.

Prediction: Sabalenka

Gauff’s Quarter

Coco Gauff has 2025 finalist points to defend, and we could see a rematch of last year’s final if defending champ Jasmine Paolini gets through a rough section.

These are the main players in this section:

• Iva Jovic
• Jasmine Paolini
• Elise Mertens
• Mirra Andreeva

Gauff is the best athlete here. She isn’t having a great clay-court season, but neither is Paolini, nor is rising star Jovic.

Mertens can be hit or miss, but Andreeva is a proven winner at this level and is coming off a run to the Madrid finals.

Prediction: Andreeva

Swiatek’s Quarter

Three-time Italian Open champion Iga Swiatek hasn’t won a clay-court title since her 2024 French Open crown. 

Here is a list of players in her way:

• Jessica Pegula
• Leylah Fernandez
• Karolina Muchova
• Naomi Osaka
• Diana Shnaider
• Daria Kasatkina

An in-form Swiatek should get through this quarter, but she isn’t playing like the “Queen of Clay” she was dubbed after a three-year clay-court dominance.

Muchova and Shnaider would be my choices to beat Swiatek, but this quarter leaves more questions than answers.

Prediction: Muchova

Rybakina’s Quarter

Elena Rybakina won this event in 2024 and has a solid chance to get through her quarter, but she will have a fight on her hands to get through this list.

• Elina Svitolina
• Hailey Baptiste
• Madison Keys
• Victoria Mboko
• Marta Kostyuk
• Maria Sakkari

Svitolina is a two-time champion here. Keys is a former quarterfinalist, while Kostyuk is coming off a Madrid crown.

Mboko is strong, and Sakkari is competent on clay, but this quarter is Rybakina’s to lose.

Prediction: Rybakina

Full 2026 Italian Open Intelligence Command Center

Phil Naessens

Phil Naessens is a tennis betting analyst and former tennis coach with decades of experience in player development and match analysis. He is the founder of Crush Rush News and host of the Crush & Rush Tennis Podcast, focusing on price-first betting strategy, market efficiency, and transparency in sports wagering.