American Danielle Collins delivered a stunning upset at the Italian Open on Saturday, knocking out world No. 2 Iga Świątek in straight sets and ending the Pole’s dominant run at the tournament. Świątek, who has won the Rome title three times in the past four years, struggled throughout the match and was broken five consecutive times as Collins surged to a 6-1, 7-5 victory.
The 29th-seeded Collins took full advantage of Świątek’s erratic serve and maintained relentless pressure from the baseline. The result marked only Collins’ second win over Świątek in nine encounters and secured her a place in the fourth round, where she will face Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
“After losing to Iga so many times, you obviously learn from those experiences,” Collins said in her post-match comments. “Even though she beat me the last couple of times, I felt I played some of my best tennis. That gave me a lot of confidence.”
Świątek’s early exit will cost her the world No. 2 ranking, ending a stretch of more than three years during which she held one of the sport’s top two spots.
Meanwhile, Italy’s Jannik Sinner made a triumphant return to competitive tennis following a three-month doping suspension. The world No. 1 defeated Argentina’s Mariano Navone 6-3, 6-4 in his first match back, thrilling a packed home crowd at Foro Italico.
Sinner, who had been sidelined after testing positive for the banned substance Clostebol, was initially cleared by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which accepted that a contaminated spray used by his physio caused the violation. However, an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) led to a retroactive ban from February 9 to May 4.
The 22-year-old was met with overwhelming support in Rome, with fans waving banners reading “Bentornato Jannik” and dressing in orange to match his signature hair. “The standing ovation I received today means much more than any result,” Sinner told reporters.
The Italian star, who won the Australian Open earlier this year, extended his winning streak to 22 matches with Saturday’s performance. He will next face Jesper de Jong in the third round on Monday.
As Sinner’s comeback gains momentum ahead of the French Open later this month, his return has also reignited conversations around fairness and consistency in tennis’s anti-doping regulations.
