Rome’s biggest clay-court tennis event opens Monday with a field that leaves little room for excuses. The 83rd edition of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia begins May 5 at the Foro Italico, with qualifying action starting a day earlier and the first round following on Tuesday.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka heads the 96-player draw, and every player in the Top 20 of the PIF WTA Rankings is entered. That makes this Rome Open the final WTA 1000 before the French Open, a blunt test of form for the sport’s best players before they head to Paris.
The field is packed from top to bottom. Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova, Elina Svitolina, Jasmine Paolini, Victoria Mboko and Mirra Andreeva are all set to compete, along with Belinda Bencic, Naomi Osaka, Iva Jovic, Madison Keys, Emma Raducanu, Qinwen Zheng and Alexandra Eala.
Anisimova will make her clay debut after missing Madrid with a wrist injury, while Emma Navarro is scheduled to return to action for the first time since early March. The last five direct entrants were Daria Kasatkina, Panna Udvardy, Kamilla Rakhimova, Oksana Selekhmeteva and Yulia Putintseva, and the withdrawal list includes Marketa Vondrousova, Sonay Kartal, Varvara Gracheva and Veronika Kudermetova.
The timing leaves no mystery about the stakes. The draw is due to be revealed May 4 at 11 a.m., qualifying begins the same day, and the tournament runs through May 17. The doubles event starts May 10, with the singles final set for May 16 at 5 p.m. local time and the doubles final scheduled for May 17 at noon.
Rome has long been one of the crown jewels of the WTA Tour, and this year’s edition arrives straight after Madrid with the French Open looming behind it. With the top 20 fully represented, the tournament does not just promise depth; it offers a clear reading of who is ready for the season’s next major test.
