Jasmine Paolini powered her way to the Italian Open title following a straight-sets victory over Coco Gauff on Saturday.

The home favourite delighted the crowd in Rome, where she soared to a 6-4 6-2 win in one hour and 29 minutes at Foro Italico.

It was Paolini's third career WTA title - just over a year after her triumph in Dubai - and her first on clay.

The Italian had dropped just a single set on the way to reaching the final, and she broke Gauff twice in the opening three games for the early advantage.

It proved crucial as, despite being broken in her first service game, Paolini remained stubborn on serve otherwise to take the first set.

Gauff appeared to be feeling the effects of her late-night semi-final victory over Qinwen Zheng. The former US Open champion, who hit seven double-faults, was broken in all three of her service games at the start of the second set.

Paolini showed no signs of slowing down as she sprinted into a 5-1 lead.

Gauff held to stay alive and rescued two championship points in the next game, but it just delayed the inevitable, with a superb serve getting the home favourite over the line.

4 - Jasmine Paolini is the fourth Italian to win the Women’s Singles title at the Italian Open in tennis history after Lucia Valerio (1931), Annelies Ullstein-Bossi (1950) and Raffaella Reggi (1985). Historic.#IBI25 | @InteBNLdItalia @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/wauAPUJoFs

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) May 17, 2025

Data Debrief: The Italian job well done

Paolini became only the second Italian woman in the Open Era to win the Italian Open - 40 years after Raffaela Reggi's triumph - and fourth overall after Lucia Valerio (1931) and Annelies Ullstein-Bossi (1950).

Last season's French Open and Wimbledon runner-up is the third player this century to win her maiden clay-court title in Rome, after Jelena Dokic (2001) and Serena Williams (2002).

Paolini also followed in Williams' footsteps as one of only two players to win the women's singles title at Foro Italico after turning 29.