The 83rd Internazionali BNL d'Italia begins in Rome on May 5, with qualifying starting Monday and the first round following the next day at the historic Foro Italico. The draw for the tournament, which runs through May 17, will be revealed May 4 at 11 a.m.
The field is deep from top to bottom. Every player in the PIF WTA Top 20 is entered, led by world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, alongside Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova, Elina Svitolina, Jasmine Paolini, Victoria Mboko and Mirra Andreeva. That means Rome will again serve as the final WTA 1000 before the French Open, with the main draw set at 96 players split into 76 direct entries, 12 qualifiers and eight wild cards.
Anisimova’s return is one of the main watchpoints. She is scheduled to make her clay debut after missing Madrid with a wrist injury, while Emma Navarro is due back for the first time since early March. The draw also includes Belinda Bencic, Naomi Osaka, Iva Jovic, Madison Keys, Emma Raducanu, Qinwen Zheng and Alexandra Eala, giving the event a mix of established champions and younger names looking for a breakthrough on clay.
The timing of the tournament leaves little room for a soft start. Doubles begins May 10, the singles final is set for May 16 at 5 p.m. local time and the doubles final follows on May 17 at noon. With withdrawals already posted for Marketa Vondrousova, Sonay Kartal, Varvara Gracheva and Veronika Kudermetova, the last places in the main draw have fallen to Daria Kasatkina, Panna Udvardy, Kamilla Rakhimova, Oksana Selekhmeteva and Yulia Putintseva. Rome rarely lacks for quality, but this year’s lineup suggests the clay season’s last big checkpoint before Paris may be the most crowded yet.