Elina Svitolina Draws Hailey Baptiste in WTA Rome Third Round

Elina Svitolina is set to face Hailey Baptiste in the WTA Rome third round on Sunday. The match pairs a proven top-10 player with an opponent who has surged into the top 25 after her Madrid run.

Svitolina Meets Baptiste Sunday

The Rome meeting gives Baptiste another chance to back up the form that lifted her ranking. She reached the top 25 after Madrid, where she beat Aryna Sabalenka after saving six match points.

Svitolina arrives as the steadier marker in the draw. She is a proven top-10 player, and that profile turns this into a sharper test than a typical third-round meeting.

Baptiste’s Madrid Surge

Baptiste’s recent results have come in tight margins. On Friday in Rome, she was down a break in the third set against Simona Waltert, then took the last four games to advance.

That comeback followed the Madrid result and underlined why the matchup draws attention. The opponent across the net is not just a rising player on a run; she has already handled pressure against Sabalenka and survived another three-set swing in Rome.

Rome Opens Another Test

The match is part of the WTA Rome third round continuing on Sunday, and it could go three sets. For Svitolina, it is a meeting with a player who has already shown she can close from behind and absorb a late push.

For Baptiste, the challenge is the same one her ranking jump now brings in Rome: beating a top-10 opponent while carrying the weight of a Madrid breakthrough and a fresh three-set win over Waltert. That is the level she has reached.