Swiatek, Gauff, Pegula to fight for world No 2 ranking at Italian Open

World No. 2 Iga Swiatek is set to defend her ranking at the Italian Open from Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula as the American duo is closing in.

Swiatek suffered a 6-1, 6-1 defeat in the Madrid Open semi-final at the hands of Gauff, which was one of her worst losses to an opponent she had never previously lost to on clay.

The Polish star failed to defend her maiden Madrid Open title but will hope better at the Italian Open, where she is defending her title and will try to win the event for the fourth time.

Iga Swiatek is WTA No. 2 with 6,773 points after a Madrid Open semi-final loss.

Gauff, on the other hand, is third with 6,603 points and would have displaced Swiatek had she won the Madrid Open title.

Pegula, fourth in the official rankings, is No. 2 in the WTA Live Rankings and with no points to defend in Rome, she is likely to surpass Swiatek and Gauff in provisional rankings due to their projected loss of points.

Gauff will lose 390 points due to her 2024 semi-final performance, but is expected to remain at No. 3 with 6,213 points.

Reigning Italian Open champion Iga Swiatek, on the other hand, is dropping 990 points and will consequently slip to No. 4 with 5,783 points.

Swiatek needs to reach at least the final of Rome to remain world No. 2 in the upcoming WTA Rankings update.

A runner-up finish will leave her at 6,423 points, while the successful title defence would take her points tally to 6,773.

However, if Swiatek loses the semi-final, she will earn 390 points and will hold 6,163 points, meaning she would be left behind both Gauff and Pegula in the rankings.

Gauff and Swiatek are on opposite sides of the Rome draw. If they face each other in the final, Gauff will pass Swiatek in the rankings regardless of the outcome.

If Gauff and Pegula face each other in the final, the winner will be world No. 2.