Published: May 9, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Jessica Pegula defeated Zeynep Sonmez 6-4, 6-0 in 72 minutes to advance to the third round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. And while the scoreline may read lopsided, it reflected a clinical performance from the No. 5 seed, who faced just one break point all match.
That lone chance for Sonmez came late in the opener as Pegula served for the set. But the American saved it and closed out a highly competitive first set in 44 minutes. Pegula didn’t let up in the second, dropping only two points on her first serve and continuing to dominate on return, winning 14 of 22 points on the Sonmez serve to complete the shutout.
The second set lasted just 28 minutes, allowing Pegula to secure her spot in the Rome third round for the fourth time in her career.
Pegula will face Rebeka Masarova in the third round after the World No. 160 upset No. 25 seed Leylah Fernandez in three sets on Friday night. Masarova dropped the opening set but rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory in 2 hours and 23 minutes, punching her ticket to the third round after coming through qualifying. The win allows her to match her best result at a WTA 1000.
Rebeka Masarova upset No. 25 seed Leylah Fernandez in three sets
Keys, Osaka survive, Muchova falls to Potapova
Meanwhile, three top players were given all they could handle by inspired unseeded opposition and while Madison Keys and Naomi Osaka each found a way through in three sets, Karolina Muchova wasn’t so lucky.
Fresh off a semifinal run at the Mutua Madrid Open as a lucky loser, where she upset Elena Rybakina along the way, Anastasia Potapova continued her good form with a 6-3, 6-2 upset of No. 11 seed Muchova. Meanwhile, Keys rallied from a set and a break down against compatriot Peyton Stearns to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 while Osaka regrouped after losing a set and a break lead against Eva Lys in her 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 triumph.
After losing in the last round of qualifying, Potapova only found her way into the Madrid draw less than an hour after her first-round match as Keys withdrew from that event with illness. In Rome, her run has been characterized not by second chances, but by great escapes.
Anastasia Potapova continued her good form with a 6-3, 6-2 upset of No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova
In the last round of qualifying and the first round of the main draw, she trailed by a set only to turn things around, and she never trailed against Doha champion Muchova. A six-game swing to Potapova’s side of the scoreboard, from 4-3 to 6-3, 4-0, helped, as did saving seven of eight break points.
Potapova downs Pliskova to become first lucky loser to reach a WTA 1000 semifinal
The Austrian has now won 10 of her last 12 matches and will next face No. 20 seed Liudmila Samsonova. Samsonova, who entered Rome just 3-7 in her last 10 matches and also saw her Madrid effort cut short with illness, was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over American Ann Li.
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Stearns entered her third career match against Keys with a 2-0 head-to-head edge. The mark which included a three-set win over Keys, then seeded No. 5, in this same round last year. In the match, Keys won the first set with ease before Stearns rallied and edged victory in a third-set tiebreak. In the reprise, it was 2025 Australian Open champion who wrestled victory from behind.
Keys won 10 of the last 12 games from 6-4, 4-2 down against Stearns, a stretch that included six in a row to stamp a 3-0 lead in the decider. While Stearns was up for the fight, and won back-to-back games to get the final set back on serve, Keys connected on enough big serves and powerful returns to steer herself over the line. She won nearly three-quarters of her service points in the final set, and also broke Stearns three times in five opportunities.
Osaka’s win over Lys lasted a hard-fought 2 hours and 8 minutes, the joint second-longest match of the day session (along with Diana Shnaider’s win over Talia Gibson, behind Iga Swiatek’s triumph against Caty McNally). But at 6-4, 2-0, 30-0, it wasn’t looking like it would go that way.
Naomi Osaka’s win over Lys lasted a hard-fought 2 hours and 8 minutes, the joint second-longest match of the day session
From there, Osaka suffered what she candidly said was “a huge dip” in level. That, coupled with an inspired performance from Lys, led to Osaka’s 10th career main-draw win in Rome being all but assured.
Upping her intensity in the decider after getting broken in the first game proved key, she said, as did leaning into the confidence she gained from pushing World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to the brink last time out at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Winning nearly three-quarters of the points on Lys’ serve in the final set no doubt helped, too. Osaka will next face Shnaider in what will be the first career meeting between the two players.
Eala in third round, meets Rybakina
Alexandra Eala, the first player from the Philippines to appear in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in the Open Era, overcame a slow start against No. 31 seed Wang Xinyu of China to advance to the third round, setting up a first meeting with Elena Rybakina, who defeated Maria Sakkari in straight sets later in the day.
Wang, who won the pair’s only previous meeting in the semifinals in Auckland earlier this year, broke Eala’s serve twice to take a 3-0 lead in the opening set. But Eala soon settled into the match and began dictating play, winning six of the next seven games to claim the set 6-4.
Alexandra Eala overcame a slow start against No. 31 seed Wang Xinyu of China to advance to the third round
The second set began with both players exchanging breaks before Wang saved two break points to hold for a 3-2 lead. From there, Eala won four consecutive games to complete a 6-4, 6-3 victory in 1 hour, 26 minutes.
Next up for the 20-year-old will be Rybakina, in what will be their first meeting at the WTA Tour level. The World No. 2 defeated Sakkari 6-4, 6-1 in 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach the third round.
On Friday, the opening set stayed tight through six games before Rybakina broke for 4-3. That was all the space she needed to take the first set, which she sealed with a hold to love. The second set was all Rybakina. She feasted on Sakkari’s serve, particularly her first serve. Sakkari won just 4 of 18 first-serve points in the set, good for 22%. That dominance on return gave Rybakina nine break points, of which she converted four to cruise to the finish.
