Rome, May 5, 2026, 14:19 CEST
- Bianca Andreescu grabbed the first set 6-4 from Sofia Kenin on Campo Centrale. Kenin was up 1-0 early in the second, according to live scores.
- With a 96-player singles field, Rome stands as the last WTA 1000 stop ahead of the French Open. The winner picks up 1,000 ranking points.
- Most models and tipsters were backing Andreescu before the match, despite Kenin having taken their Charleston clash last month.
Bianca Andreescu grabbed the opening set 6-4 from Sofia Kenin on Tuesday at the Italian Open, putting the Canadian in charge early in a first-round clash that preview sites had circled as a tough draw for both players. According to Eurosport’s live board, Kenin led 1-0 in the second set after dropping the first.
Rome stands as the final WTA 1000 ahead of Roland Garros, offering a crucial 1,000-point prize for the champion—and the window for players to fine-tune their clay game is almost shut. Action gets underway May 5-17 at Foro Italico, with the singles draw featuring 96 names and every top-20 player on the entry list.
Kenin and Andreescu were slotted second on Campo Centrale, following Barbora Krejcikova’s match with Elsa Jacquemot, according to the official schedule. Andreescu landed in the draw via a wild card—organizers granted her a main-draw spot that doesn’t hinge on ranking.
Whoever comes through gets barely a moment to exhale. According to WTA’s draw analysis, Kenin-Andreescu jumps out as a first-round highlight, but the winner has 12th-seeded Belinda Bencic waiting next. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is lurking up in that same quarter.
Betting markets leaned only slightly toward Andreescu. Dimers, after running 10,000 simulations, gave her a 53.3% shot, leaving Kenin with 46.7%. Moneyline odds came in at Andreescu -116, Kenin +110.
Cizu Harbor at Last Word on Tennis didn’t see a clear favorite, calling the clash an “absolute coin flip.” Still, Harbor leaned toward Andreescu in three, pointing to her heavier clay schedule and a marginal edge in wins this season. Worth noting: Kenin handled Andreescu in straight sets back in Charleston in April. Last Word On Sports
Over at College Sports Network, Karan Tyagi liked Andreescu as well, backing her on the -1.5 set spread at +154. Tyagi highlighted Andreescu’s 4-2 head-to-head edge. The preview also noted Andreescu’s 11-5 clay record this season, while Kenin sits at 2-2.
Still, the numbers tell a different story. Kenin took down Andreescu 6-4, 6-4 on April 1 at the Credit One Charleston Open, a clay event. According to the latest WTA singles rankings, Kenin sits at No. 74 with 922 points—comfortably ahead of Andreescu, who holds No. 137 with 564 points.
There’s name recognition here that outpaces the rankings. Kenin brings the 2020 Australian Open to her WTA profile, while Andreescu’s three WTA singles titles include the 2019 U.S. Open. Both have shown more upside than their present rankings indicate.
Krejcikova quickly handled Jacquemot, 6-2, 6-4, advancing past the first match on Campo Centrale. As first-round and qualifying play rolled on elsewhere around Foro Italico, the Kenin-Andreescu matchup stayed front and center in the day’s prime slot—not shuffled out to the sidelines.
Andreescu took the first set, right in line with what the early odds suggested. Then Kenin’s break deep in the second flashed on the live board—a reminder that in these first-round clay matches, especially when both players are still piecing things back together, that’s usually the only clear signal the contest isn’t finished.
