Iga Swiatek survived an almighty scare on her return to action at the Italian Open, finally overcoming Caty McNally 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 after two hours and 45 minutes.

Having been forced to retire from her third-round matchup with Ann Li at the Madrid Open due to illness, Swiatek had to hold off a stirring fightback from McNally to reach tound three in Rome. 

The clay-court specialist was rocked in the first game of the match as McNally took a surprise break, but that was the only game the American would win in the opening set.

The second was a different story, though, as swirling wind affected play and McNally produced some spirited defensive work, with errors creeping into Swiatek's game after she broke to love in game three.

McNally pieced together two spirited holds – one after two deuces and the other to love – to stay in the contest. And Swiatek missed two opportunities to serve it out, either side of earning another break, as a tie-break was required.   

More unforced errors from Swiatek allowed McNally to win the tie-break, and there was more drama to come in the decider as the players traded breaks midway through.

A hard-earned break in game eight gave Swiatek a third chance to serve it out, and this time, she would not be denied as McNally's backhand drifted wide at the end of a back-and-forth rally. 

Elsewhere, 10th seed Victoria Mboko was forced to withdraw from her meeting with Tyra Caterina Grant due to illness, with Nikola Bartunkova taking her place.

88 - Only Chris Evert (92.3%) holds a better win rate at the Italian Open than Iga Swiatek (88%) in the Open Era (min. 10 matches played). Ruling. #IBI26 | @InteBNLdItalia @WTA pic.twitter.com/1LSVFNgJfe

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) May 8, 2026

Data Debrief: Forty up for Swiatek

Swiatek's victory was her 40th at clay-court WTA 1000 events, and among active players (those that have appeared this season), she is the only player to reach that figure.

The Pole has now won 11 of her 12 opening-round matches at clay-court WTA 1000 tournaments, only ever falling at the first hurdle at the 2020 Italian Open.

McNally, meanwhile, is the ninth opponent Swiatek has defeated on all three surfaces at WTA level and the third American, after Danielle Collins and Sofia Kenin.