Carlos Alcaraz didn't call Jannik Sinner during Italian's ban, won't tire of praising "amazing" colleague

In one sense, this late match in the Grandstand is what it appears to be: A battle between a relative tour veteran, in Kostyuk, and a wide-eyed rookie, in Eala. But when it comes to ages of these two women, “veteran” and “rookie” can be deceiving. At 22, Kostyuk, a prodigy who made her debut when she was 14, is just three years older than the 19-year-old Eala.

What’s more important is that both of these women have been fulfilling their youthful potential of late: Kostyuk gradually, Eala meteorically. The Ukrainian has made herself a Top 30 fixture over the past two years, while the Filipino—via the Rafa Nadal Academy—leapt from obscurity all the way to the Miami Open semifinals, and a win over Iga Swiatek, in March.

This will be the first meeting between the two. Kostyuk is coming off a strong performance in Madrid, where she reached the quarters and pushed Aryna Sabalenka to two tiebreakers. That might make you believe she’s the stronger clay-court player, but Eala took a set from Swiatek in Madrid, and has presumably spent a fair amount of time on dirt at her Mallorca training ground.

Eala obviously has a high ceiling, maybe higher than Kostyuk’s, and her left-handed, down-the-line forehand may be the biggest point-opening weapon on the court. But I’ll go with the veteran, and trust in the power of her desire not to lose to a teenager. Winner: Kostyuk

Where to Watch

🖥️📱 Click here for live coverage on TennisChannel.com
Estimated start time — 11:30 a.m. ET, Wednesday, May 7

👉 Click here for the complete Rome bracket.

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Naomi Osaka vs. Sara Errani: Rome Match Preview

A match between a former No. 1 and an Olympic gold medalist for Italy makes sense in center court. It makes somewhat less sense first up, at 11 in the morning, except as a way to get fans to make it to the grounds a little earlier than they normally would.

The 27-year-old, 48th-ranked Osaka is 2-0 against the 38-year-old Errani, who plays most of her tennis with doubles partner Jasmine Paolini now, and is ranked 177th in the world in singles. But that doesn’t mean the undersized Italian is any less dogged than she was when she was a Roland Garros runner-up over a decade ago.

Errani is an expert in trying her opponent’s patience. She makes a lot of balls, makes the other player win points two or three times, and slows play to a snail’s pace whenever possible. Osaka, who likes her points to be over as quickly, is someone who Errani could exasperate on the right day. But Errani’s age, and Osaka’s recent title at a 125 on clay, makes me think this won’t be that day. Winner: Osaka

Where to Watch

🖥️📱 Click here for live coverage on TennisChannel.comEstimated start time — 5 a.m. ET, Wednesday, May 7

👉 Click here for the complete Rome bracket.

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Belinda Bencic vs. Maria Sakkari: Rome Match Preview

Anyone innocently scanning the Order of Play for Wednesday likely did a double-take when they came across this match, third up on Court 1. Buried in a sea of relative unknowns, here was a face-off between two former Top 5 players. While neither is ranked that high anymore—Bencic is 39th; Sakkari, who had to qualify for Rome, is 81st—neither is over the hill quite yet.

Bencic is 28, Sakkari is 29, and they’ve been on tour together for more than a decade. But this will be just their third meeting, and their first since 2022. Bencic won that one in three sets on grass in Berlin, while Sakkari won, also in three sets, when they met on indoor hard courts in St. Petersburg in 2020.

Who should be favored in the clay rubber match? Both are coming off fourth-round runs in Madrid. For the year, though, their records aren’t close: Bencic is 21-8 in 2025, Sakkari just 12-14. Winner: Bencic

Where to Watch

🖥️📱 Click here for live coverage on TennisChannel.com
Estimated start time — 8 a.m. ET, Wednesday, May 7

👉 Click here for the complete Rome bracket.

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Betting Odds

This is the final clay-court WTA 1000 of the season, and it’s one that has been dominated by Iga Swiatek. The Pole has won it in three of the last four years, and the slow conditions suit her game perfectly. But with Swiatek playing some shaky tennis heading into this year’s tournament, plenty of other players will feel they have a shot at heading into Roland Garros with some major momentum...

In this edition of Game, Set, Bet, presented by BetMGM, Zachary Cohen provides a WTA Rome betting preview, a breakdown of the court conditions, our players to watch and a pick to win.

👉 Click here for more betting coverage on TENNIS.com.

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