Peyton Stearns outlasts Svitolina in a late Rome Open thriller to reach semifinals

In a marathon late-night session at the Foro Italico, Peyton Stearns punched her ticket to the Rome Open semifinals with a gritty 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(4) victory over Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina. It marks the third time this tournament that the American has come through a deciding-set tiebreak.

Stearns’ dream week in Italy continues, as she took down one of the in-form players of the event and kept alive her hopes of finishing the season’s second clay-court WTA 1000 on a high note.

She’s now the first American to book a spot in the final four in Rome, with Coco Gauff set to try and join her on Wednesday.

First Set

Things didn’t start well for Stearns. Svitolina capitalized early, breaking serve and consolidating to take a 2-0 lead. But that would be the last game the Ukrainian won in the set.

Stearns quickly found her rhythm, raising her level to reel off six straight games. In just 36 minutes, the opening set was hers.

Second Set

Svitolina wasn’t going away quietly. After securing a break in the third game, the set remained tight. In the eighth game, Stearns had four break points that would have allowed her to serve for the match — but the 31-year-old veteran dug in and held firm.

That show of grit shifted the momentum. Svitolina went on to break and served out the second set 6-4 to level the match.

Third Set

The American’s struggles continued early in the decider, as Svitolina jumped out to a 3-0 lead. But Stearns once again clawed her way back, leveling the score at 3-3.

After a quick exchange of breaks, both players held serve through to the tiebreak, where the tension ramped up.

Deadlocked at 4-4, Stearns found another gear — physically fresher and mentally sharper — she stepped up the aggression and closed out the match after over an hour of third-set drama.