ROME, May 14. /TASS/. Russia’s top female racquet Mirra Andreeva fell in the quarterfinals round of the 2025 Italian Open on Wednesday, losing to American Coco Gauff.
In a match that lasted 1 hour 42 minutes and finished with a tense tiebreak, the 4th-seeded Gauff took down the 7th-seeded teen Andreeva, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, 6-4; 7-6 (7-5).
"I’m feeling really good — and I feel I have a lot to improve on, too," the tournament’s official website quoted Gauff as saying after the match. "When you’re winning matches and you still feel like you have a whole ceiling to reach, it just makes you feel good."
This is the third time Gauff has reached the semis at the Italian Open in her career. She will now await the winner of the quarterfinals encounter between No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and No. 8 Zheng Qinwen from China. The other semifinal is already set, pitting Italy’s Jasmine Paolini and Peyton Stearns from the United States against each other for a spot in the tournament final.
"I’ve lost in the semis here a few times, so I’m hoping to get through to the final stage," Gauff added, looking forward to her next match.
This was the fourth career meeting between Gauff and rising star Andreeva, with the American winning all of them.
Andreeva, 18, has three WTA titles under her belt. She is Russia's top-ranked female player according to the WTA Rankings (7th). Her best finish at Grand Slams was at the 2024 French Open when she reached the semifinals. In 2023, the WTA named Andreeva the rookie of the year. Playing at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, she won a silver medal in women’s doubles with partner Diana Shnaider.
The 2025 Italian Open tennis tournament is a WTA 1000 event. Played on outdoor clay courts, the tourney takes place at Rome’s Foro Italico sports complex from May 6-18. The tournament’s reigning champion is Iga Swiatek of Poland.
Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022 to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.
On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from taking part in the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.
However, the Women Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) allowed tennis players from Russia and Belarus to continue participating in WTA and ATP tournaments, but only under a neutral status.