WTA Rome: Zheng Qinwen lost to Gauff and missed the final

On May 15, local time, the 2025 WTA 1000 Rome station ended the competition for the women's singles semifinals. Eighth seed Zheng Qinwen of China lost 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-7(4) to third seed Gauff in a hard-fought battle, swallowing three straight defeats against the latter and missing out on qualifying for the final.

Zheng Qinwen

Photo: Li Jianyi

Zheng Qinwen has lost the previous two meetings between the two sides, and it is worth mentioning that the encounter between the two sides was at this stop last year, when Gauff won in straight sets; Last year's WTA Finals title match, the two players faced each other again across the net, and after three sets, Gauff had the last laugh.

Gauff

Photo: Visual China

In this match, the two sides launched a break battle in the opening game, Gauff stabilized his position and won the service game 5-3, and then Zheng Qinwen won the service game 6-5 in three consecutive games, but they failed to cash in. In the first set, Gauff went into a tie-break, and Gauff took a 7-3 lead with a more consistent play. In the second set again, Zheng Qinwen took the lead to take the initiative 4-2, although the two sides fell into a break battle again at the end of the set, Zheng Qinwen equalized the set 6-4 with the advantage of holding serve in one more game. In the deciding set, the battle intensified, and in Gauff's first service game, the two sides were evenly divided six times, and Zheng Qinwen continued to output in the middle of the set to take a 5-3 30-15 lead in the service game, but then Gauff turned the tide again and finally won the game 7-4 through a tie-break.

Zheng Qinwen summed up the game after the game, believing that he had lost at a crucial point. "I don't think there's a gap, it's just a matter of a few key points, in fact, there are chances from start to finish, maybe in terms of key points I may need to deal with a little bit bolder or a little more aggressive at some point." Zheng Qinwen said that he learned a lot from this competition, especially the technical aspects that he could improve. "I think it's a very good clay match because it's a lot of physical testing, and you definitely need to prepare better when you get to the French Open."

Paulini

Photo: Visual China

Gauff has reached back-to-back finals on clay in two consecutive WTA1000 tournaments this season, becoming only the fourth woman to do so, after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Swiatek and Sabalenka, and is also confirmed to play at the French Open as the No. 2 seed. Gauff will face homegrown darling and sixth seed Paulini, who knocked out American Stearns 7-5, 6-1 in the semi-finals to reach the Women's Singles final of the WTA1000 tournament for the second time in her career.

(Text and editor: Dato)