Iga Świątek defeated Karolína Plíšková in the final, 6–0, 6–0 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2021 Italian Open. It was her first WTA 1000 singles title, and the 13 points Świątek lost in the championship match is the fewest on record in a WTA 1000-level final (Serena Williams previously held the record, from the 2015 Miami Open final). This was the first WTA Tour singles final to be resolved with a 'double bagel' scoreline since Simona Halep defeated Anastasija Sevastova at the 2016 Bucharest Open, and was just the tenth such final in WTA Tour history. With the win, Świątek broke into the top 10 of the WTA rankings for the first time. Both finalists saved match points in prior rounds – Świątek saved two match points in her third round match against Barbora Krejčíková, whilst Plíšková saved three match points in her quarterfinal match against Jeļena Ostapenko.
This was Serena Williams' last appearance in Rome, which was ended by the hands of Nadia Podoroska in the straight sets loss in the second round. The loss also ended Williams' 21-match winning streak in the tournament dating back to 2012. The streak includes three Italian Open titles. The last loss before this tournament was in 2010 against Jelena Janković, despite Williams having a match point in the final set.
Simona Halep was the defending champion, but retired due to a left calf muscle tear in the second round against Angelique Kerber.
Seeds The top nine seeds received a bye into the second round.
Draw
Finals
Top half
Section 1
Section 2
Bottom half
Section 3
Section 4
Qualifying
Seeds
Qualifiers
Lucky losers
Draw
First qualifier
Second qualifier
Third qualifier
Fourth qualifier
Fifth qualifier
Sixth qualifier
Seventh qualifier
Eighth qualifier
Championship match statistics Category Świątek Plíšková 1st serve %15/28 (54%) 18/36 (50%) 1st serve points won14 of 15 = 93% 8 of 18 = 44% 2nd serve points won11 of 13 = 85% 2 of 18 = 11% Total service points won25 of 28 = 89.29% 10 of 36 = 27.78% Aces 1 1 Double faults 0 6 Winners17 5 Unforced errors4 19 Net points won 2 of 2 = 100% 3 of 5 = 60% Break points converted 6 of 8 = 75% 0 of 2 = 0% Return points won 26 of 36 = 72% 3 of 28 = 11% Total points won 51 13Source
WTA singles main-draw entrants
Seeds The following are the seeded players. Seedings are based on WTA rankings as of 26 April 2021. Rankings and points before are as of 10 May 2021. SeedRankPlayerPoints beforePoints defendingNext best tournament or Rome 2020Points wonPoints afterStatus 1 1 Ashleigh Barty 10,090 105 100 190 10,175 Quarterfinals, retired against Coco Gauff 2 2 Naomi Osaka 7,650 190 0 1 7,461 Second round, lost to Jessica Pegula 3 3 Simona Halep 6,520 (900) 900 1 6,520 Second round, retired against Angelique Kerber 4 5 Sofia Kenin 5,905 105 65 1 5,865 Second round, lost to Barbora Krejčíková 5 6 Elina Svitolina 5,835 (190) 190 190 5,835 Quarterfinals, lost to Iga Świątek 6 7 Bianca Andreescu 5,265 (0) 0 0 5,265 Withdrew due to COVID-19 protocols 7 4 Aryna Sabalenka 6,195 (1) 190 105 6,195 Third round, lost to Coco Gauff 8 8 Serena Williams 4,850 60 0 1 4,791 Second round, lost to Nadia Podoroska 9 9 Karolína Plíšková 4,660 900 585 585 4,345 Runner-up, lost to Iga Świątek 10 11 Belinda Bencic 4,140 (60) 65 1 4,140 First round, lost to Kristina Mladenovic [LL] 11 10 Petra Kvitová 4,160 105 1 60 4,115 Second round, lost to Vera Zvonareva [Q] 12 12 Garbiñe Muguruza 4,110 (350) 350 105 4,110 Third round, lost to Elina Svitolina 13 13 Jennifer Brady 3,830 (0) 60 60 3,830 Second round, withdrew due to left foot injury 14 14 Elise Mertens 3,685 (190) 190 1 3,685 First round, lost to Veronika Kudermetova 15 15 Iga Świątek 3,555 (1) 20 900 4,435 Champion, defeated Karolína Plíšková 16 18 Johanna Konta 3,236 585 105 1 2,756 First round, lost to Jeļena Ostapenko 17 19 Maria Sakkari 3,130 380 80 60 2,830 Second round, lost to Coco Gauff
Other entrants The following players received wild cards into the main singles draw: Elisabetta Cocciaretto Caroline Garcia Camila Giorgi Martina Trevisan Venus Williams
The following players received entry using a protected ranking: Yaroslava Shvedova Zheng Saisai
The following players received entry from the singles qualifying draw: Alizé Cornet Polona Hercog Marta Kostyuk Christina McHale Bernarda Pera Ajla Tomljanović Tamara Zidanšek Vera Zvonareva
The following players received entry as lucky losers: Kristina Mladenovic Laura Siegemund Sloane Stephens Patricia Maria Țig
Withdrawals Before the tournament Bianca Andreescu → replaced by Kristina Mladenovic Victoria Azarenka → replaced by Magda Linette Kiki Bertens → replaced by Anastasija Sevastova Ons Jabeur → replaced by Jil Teichmann Anett Kontaveit → replaced by Sara Sorribes Tormo Svetlana Kuznetsova → replaced by Shelby Rogers Karolína Muchová → replaced by Sloane Stephens Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova → replaced by Patricia Maria Țig Elena Rybakina → replaced by Yaroslava Shvedova Donna Vekić → replaced by Nadia Podoroska Venus Williams → replaced by Laura Siegemund Dayana Yastremska → replaced by Jeļena Ostapenko
During the tournament Jennifer Brady
Retirements Ashleigh Barty Simona Halep Alison Riske
References
External links Main draw Qualifying draw