PREVIEW | WTA Rome Open 2025 - Quarterfinals: Peyton Stearns aims for semi-final dream as Elina Svitolina stands in the way

The 2025 WTA Rome Masters unfolds on May 13 with two high-voltage matches. The experienced Elina Svitolina clashes against the surprising Peyton Stearns, and the local favorite, Jasmine Paoline will face the russian rising star, Diana Shnaider.

The 2025 Rome Open enters its final lap with the beginning of the quarterfinals at the Foro Italico. This Tuesday the action continues with two very exciting matchups:

The 27 year old Jasmine Paolini is enjoying a very good present playing in front of her crowd. After a decepointing defeat against Sakkari in Madrid, Paolini still hasn't lost a set yet in Rome, and has defeated some strong opponents such as Ons Jabeur and Stuttgart's Open reigning champion, Jelena Ostapenko.

Opposite to her stands Diana Shnaider. The World's No. 11 is also playing her best tennis this season, and arrived to the quarterfinals at Rome after crushing Caroline Dolehide in the first round -with a double bagel-, defeating Jacqueline Cristian in the second and overcoming the Belgian Elise Mertens in the round of 16. All of these results accomplished after firing her former coach, Dinara Safina, on this very same tournament.

This matchup recalls their meeting at the 2024 Australian Open, where Paolini won in straight sets. However, Shnaider's development suggests a completely different duel this time. The winner will be facing Elina Svitolina or Peyton Stearns in the next round.

The second match scheduled for this Tuesday features a generational duel between two players with different presents. Svitolina, Rouen's last champion, arrives to this intance playing possibly the best tennis of her career. The 31-year-old ukrainian, former world No.3 and winner of the 2018 WTA Finals is redefining her legacy in 2025, going deep on almost every tournament she has played and standing with an astonishing record of 22 wins and only 7 loses. Stearns will be the third american she faces, after defeating Danielle Collins and Hailey Baptiste in the previous rounds.

The 23-year-old Stearns sits at the 42nd spot of the WTA rank, and has been one of the best surprises of the Rome Open, defeating Anna Kalinskaya, the Australian Open champion Madison Keys and former World No.1 Naomi Osaka on her way to the quarterfinals.

Svitolina has the advantage as her game adapts better to this surface, but after Stearn's remarkable wins this remains as a close call. This will be the first time this two face each other.