
Ashleigh Barty continues to accumulate wins this season, defeating Veronika Kudermetova to reach the Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome quarterfinals on Thursday.
The World No.1 pulled off an easy 6-3 6-3 win over her Russian opponent, notching her 27th match-win of the season. The 78 minute victory ensured that Barty reached the quarterfinals of Rome for the first time in her career, and improves her 2021 record on clay to 13-2.
"I think once I walked out there, it was a bit of a 'wow' factor," Barty said after her match. "Pretty impressive center court, took some time to get used to that. Without a doubt, happy with how we were able to tactically move about that match today and kind of stick to what we hoped would work and be able to execute."
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The top seed next faces American teenager Coco Gauff, who upset World No.4 Aryna Sabalenka to reach the quarterfinals.
"Coco has shown that she loves to bring her best tennis against the players that challenge her the most," Barty said. "She's played an exceptional tournament thus far. She's got the ability to take the game on. She's aggressive, she can run, she can trust her legs.
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"I think it's going to be important for me to try to get the match back on my terms as often as possible. I know when they're in her patterns, the way she likes to play, she's extremely dangerous and very good at what she does. I think it's going to be a new challenge, a clean slate for both of us."
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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mandoist09-11-2026 - Vukov is doing this to Lena... AGAIN!!!!! WTA's autonomous collective should be dismantled for allowing Vukov to re-emerge from his hand-slapping suspension. Just ask WTA employees how that's been going lately as they witness his continued verbal abuses. Women's Pro Tennis should start over.
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