The 2022 Italian Open will unfortunately be without one of its biggest stars as Naomi Osaka had to pull out of the tournament with an Achilles injury.
However, there are still a number of other WTA Tour stars competing in Rome, including teenagers Coco Gauff and US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, who both won their first-round matches.
Meanwhile, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who is on an amazing win streak, is set to make her comeback after a brief injury-imposed break to defend her title.
Read on below for all the latest WTA Italian Open 2022 news.
Naomi Osaka withdraws due to Achailles injury
Naomi Osaka will not be taking part in the Italian Open, citing an Achilles injury she had suffered in her previous tournament in Spain.
“Unfortunately I’m going to have to withdraw from Rome as the injury which I picked up last week in Madrid hasn’t healed yet,” Osaka said.
“It’s an Achilles injury, so I need to be careful especially in advance of Roland Garros.”
Osaka, a former world No. 1, is currently ranked No. 38 as she looks to climb the WTA Tour Rankings after a difficult 2021. She has a 12-4 record the season and reached the final of the Miami Masters, where she lost to current world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in straight sets. She then went out in the second round of the Madrid Masters, where she picked up her Achilles injury.
Osaka will be hoping to recover in time for the French Open. She famously withdrew from last year’s tournament due to mental health concerns.
Coco Gauff gets past former world No. 1
No. 15 seed Coco Gauff is safely through to the second round of the tournament after a convincing 6-1 6-4 win over former world No. 1 Angelique Kerber.
Gauff had some issues with her service game as she committed eight double faults, put just 69 per cent of her first serves in play, and was broken twice. But she converted five of 12 break point opportunities to beat the three-time Grand Slam winner Kerber.
The 18-year-old Gauff has a 12-9 record on the season and is now 3-2 on clay. She recently reached the round of 16 at the Madrid Masters, where she fell to former world No. 1 Simona Halep in straight sets.
Gauff will meet the winner of the Madison Brengle-Marta Kostyuk first-round matchup in the second round.
Leylah Fernandez completes comeback win
Joining Gauff in the second round is fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez. The 19-year-old and 2021 US Open finalist came from a set down to beat No. 14 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 1-6 6-2 6-2.
“She’s an incredible player and she’s very comfortable on clay. I knew it was going to be tough. The first set, I made a few mistakes and she just took advantage of it. In the second set, I just wanted to play a little more freely, just letting go of my arms,” Fernandez said post-match.
“Even though I lost the first game, I think it helped me to get into the match. Afterwards, my balls were just going in. I’m just glad that I was able to keep attacking, keep being on the offensive, even though I was making mistakes, and I still kept trusting myself.”
Fernandez is 11-6 on the season with a title at the Monterrey Open. She will take on Daria Kasatkina in the second round.
Iga Swiatek rested and ready for title defence
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek returns to where it all began for her: Rome. She won the first WTA 1000 title of her career at last year’s Italian Open, dominating Karolina Pliskova 6-0 6-0 in the final.
Swiatek has since climbed all the way up to No. 1 in the world, and she will make her return from a recent injury in this year’s tournament.
The 20-year-old looked back on her amazing run to the title last season and how far she has come in such a short span of time.
“Last year I feel like I still was trying to find some consistency in the wins that I had, and also confirmation that Roland Garros wasn’t just like a [one-off] tournament,” Swiatek said. “I feel like I found that and I feel like I can move forward and just focus on my next goals.
Swiatek also gave an update on her preparation as she returns to action after dealing with a shoulder injury.
“It’s pretty weird because I really rested, then they almost killed me on the practices,” Swiatek said. “Hopefully it’s going to give me more power and I’m going to be more ready to play well next tournaments.”
Swiatek has been in sensational form this season. She has won three tournaments in a row – at Indian Wells, Miami, and Stuttgart – and is currently on a 23-match winning streak.
The Italian Open 2022 betting odds will be heavily in her favour to win her opening match against either American Shelby Rogers or Alison Riske as she looks to win her fourth straight title.
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