The 2026 Italian Open is the final big clay tournament ahead of the French Open. There is an awesome semifinal match set between Sorana Cirstea and Coco Gauff. The match begins at 9 a.m. ET on Thursday, May 14th.
Coco Gauff vs. Sorana Cirstea Preview
It has been a remarkable run through this Italian Open for the World No. 27 Sorana Cirstea. This 2026 season is a retirement tour of sorts for Cirstea. The 36-year-old announced that this would be her final season in professional tennis. She has been a top-50 player in the world for an incredibly long stretch. Her longevity is quite impressive, but she has never been able to break through to the top of the sport. Cirstea has never made it past the quarterfinals at a major, and she has only made one career WTA 1000 final. That came all the way back in 2013 at the Canadian Open, where she was dominated by Serena Williams.
Cirstea had shown signs of great tennis earlier in the year. While it was a lower-level tournament, Cirstea won her fourth career WTA title earlier this year in Transylvania. The real moment of magic came in the Round of 32 at this Italian Open, when Cirstea came back from down a set to defeat the No. 1 player in the world, Aryna Sabalenka. Cirstea became the oldest player to ever come from behind and beat the World No. 1 after dropping the opening set. She also became the oldest player to ever upset the World No. 1 on clay. Cirstea has pulled off some great upsets throughout her career, but that was her first time defeating the World No. 1. She is now one win away from reaching the biggest final of her career.
Coco Gauff has also been amazing at this Italian Open. She made the final here in Rome last year, leading up to her major win at Roland-Garros. Gauff had not been playing her best tennis so far in 2026. She needed a big performance here in Rome to restore her confidence before heading to Paris to try to defend her crown. Gauff has done just that for the second year in a row, cruising to this semifinal. Gauff has had back-to-back massive matches against Iva Jovic and Mirra Andreeva. It is now her job to remain focused against an opponent that she should, on paper, beat handily.
Coco Gauff vs. Sorana Cirstea Pick, Best Bet
My best bet for this match is for Coco Gauff to win by an exact score of two sets to one. Gauff has been pushed to three sets in each of her past two matches in this tournament, but has taken care of business in that third set. I expect the same result here against Sorana Cirstea. Prior to 2026, Gauff and Cirstea had only played each other once, at the 2020 Australian Open, a match Gauff won in three sets. However, they have already faced each other twice this year, with this semifinal being the third meeting. Gauff defeated Cirstea in the Round of 16 in Miami and in the Round of 32 in Madrid. However, both of those matches went to three sets as well.
So, in all three career meetings between these two, Gauff has won the match in three sets, with two of those coming this year. Sorana Cirstea has been on such an amazing run through this tournament and should put up a massive fight against Gauff. Coco Gauff could be both mentally and physically worn down after two huge matches in the two previous rounds. That gives Cirstea a good chance to jump on her early and steal a set. However, if this goes to a third set, Gauff’s athleticism and superior firepower should win out. This is likely where Sorana Cirstea’s Cinderella run comes to an end, but she should put up a good fight in the process. At odds of +330, this is a great bet to place on this match.
