Emma Raducanu exited the Italian Open at the last-16 stage after being outclassed in a straight-sets defeat by Coco Gauff.
Raducanu was bidding to reach a second WTA 1000 quarter-final of 2025, having reached the last eight in Miami in March, but fourth seed Gauff won 6-1 6-2 in the battle of the former US Open champions.
Gauff, who triumphed at Flushing Meadows in 2023, two years after Raducanu, needed just 79 minutes to seal victory and will face either Russian seventh seed Mirra Andreeva or Denmark’s Clara Tauson next.
Don’t mess with Coco and clay 🧱@CocoGauff is through to the quarterfinals in Rome for the third time in her career after defeating Raducanu 6-1, 6-2.#IBI25 pic.twitter.com/OnN6tSEiBI
— wta (@WTA) May 12, 2025
Raducanu had beaten Australian qualifier Maya Joint, Swiss lucky loser Jil Teichmann and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova to reach the fourth round but Gauff was unquestionably a step up in quality.
Despite the one-sided scoreline, the 22-year-old Briton had her moments in gusty conditions and a scorching forehand return to save match point was one of a number of highlight-reel winners.
But none of them came at critical junctures of the contest, with Raducanu unable to convert any of her three break opportunities, while she won just 47 per cent of points on her first serve in Rome.
Gauff, who won their only previous meeting at the 2023 Australian Open, broke twice in each set as the American’s ground strokes off each wing gave her 22-year-old British opponent plenty of problems.
Gauff, beaten in this month’s Madrid Open final by world number one Aryna Sabalenka, won 74 per cent of points on her first serve and prevailed on her second match point after Raducanu’s return went long.
Asked to grade her performance, Gauff told Sky Sports: “Definitely an A. It was tough conditions, super windy and this court is super dry compared to the other ones.
“Emma’s a tough opponent no matter what surface, she’s tough to play so I’m really happy with how I played.
“I’m getting better every match and Madrid was a step in the right direction. Obviously I got to the final and I don’t like losing, so I’m hoping to redeem myself here.”
