PREVIEW | WTA Rome Open 2025 - Day Six: Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva, Coco Gauff return as Last 16 to be set

It is Day Six of the Rome Open on the WTA side and the Last 16 will be fully set on Sunday night with some top ties on offer with Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva and Coco Gauff all set to return to action.

This of course after the demise of Iga Swiatek but this is the top section of the draw which by comparison is a lot more difficult with some surprise names inhabiting the bottom of the draw going into the latter half.

Aryna Sabalenka eased past Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 6-2 to reach the Last 32 and now faces Sofia Kenin who eased through Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-0 and despite having to tussle with the World Number One now is a seed again which is a welcome boost for the American.

She lost in the Charleston final last month to Jessica Pegula. But lost in three sets to Anastasia Potapova in Madrid, she has a 3-2 Head to Head deficit to Sabalenka albeit their last actual meeting was in 2023 when they faced off in World Tennis League and Beijing at the end of the season so not a huge gauge. But given she lost to Potapova in Madrid and Sabalenka won fairly easily, the World Number One will be given the edge.

Then it is the turn of Mirra Andreeva who returns after easing through Emiliana Arango. She had a mixed Madrid losing to Coco Gauff in the Quarter-Finals pretty comfortably in a tournament she excels in. But it has been up and down as expected since she won two WTA !000's in a row earlier in the spring.

But she has a 2-1 lead Head-to-Head wise over Linda Noskova and should be expected to win here to reach the Last 16 where the winner of Emma Navarro or Clara Tauson would await. Likely it would be Coco Gauff in the semi-finals all being well.

On Pietrangeli, there is only one WTA tie and that is Marta Kostyuk facing Leylah Fernandez. The latter is the seed in this tie but ironically the Ukrainian is set to usurp her this next week likely on the rankings anyway to become World No.25.

Also it is a huge injustice realistically to her current form which has seen Kostyuk become one of the most consistent players on the WTA Tour over the past few months and she has only lost to the best. E.g Sabalenka in Madrid where it was fraught by rain drama. So it is widely expected she will face Sabalenka again in the Last 16.

Speaking of Gauff priorly, she is now going to be World No.2 as of next week with Swiatek's demise and after reaching the final of Madrid will have her sights set on no slip ups.

She faces Magda Linette who won their last meeting during a bit of a crisis for Gauff during the early part of the summer. She lost to her in Miami 6-4, 6-4 after Gauff had won their prior two meetings. But Gauff seems a lot more certain and avoided a scare against Victoria Mboko last round.

Albeit Linette is well known as a spoiler and realistically if there is any player who will take her out at this position of the tournament it will likely be the Pole. So one to look out for.

Same can be said for Bianca Andreescu who of course is a big name in her own right. But she will not be expected on paper to beat Elena Rybakina.

Rybakina beat her in Madrid last week and should be expected to face the next player on Grand Stand for a likely Quarter final with Sabalenka. But Andreescu has been looking better and better taking out Donna Vekic last round.

Rybakina at times struggled with Eva Lys so isn't exactly a sure fire bet. She also hasn't been that consistent all season with the issues surrounding her banned coach Stefano Vukov being more in the news than her wins.

Andreescu has embraced a new lifestyle and is looking fitter and stronger than before her break so one to also watch on upset watch. Zheng Qinwen finally is perhaps the forgotten character of the piece.

One of the players of the year last season and a superb clay court star, the Chinese ace had a poor start to the season so has perhaps been brushed aside but amid all the potential upsets could renew her rivalry with Sabalenka. She faces Magdalena Frech in the Last 32 who saw off Victoria Azarenka last round.

Finally it is two players gaining confidence on the courts of Rome as Emma Raducanu returns after her last win over Jil Teichmann.

Raducanu with the help of commentator/part-time coach Mark Petchey has managed to change certain shots in her repertoire and is already showing improvements this week.

She has a bright look in her eyes and is benefiting on a surface which she sees as a bonus going into grass. She faces Veronika Kudermetova and not her close friend, Amanda Anisimova in this round. Albeit that could be a help or a hindrance with the Russian on her way back it seems.

Emma Navarro is last up to talk about and the 10th seed finally claimed her first win in Rome and looked good in doing so. She faces Clara Tauson though who is adept on this surface and will provide a tough test. Another upset of sorts? Maybe.