World No. 4 American Jessica Pegula was defeated by Belgium`s Elise Mertens, ranked 24th in the WTA rankings, in the third round of the Rome tournament. The final score was 5/7, 1/6.
The match lasted 1 hour and 25 minutes on the court. Elise Mertens continues to hold a dominant head-to-head record against Pegula, leading 4:1.
Match Statistics:
| Pegula | Mertens | |
| Aces | 0 | 4 |
| Double Faults | 3 | 1 |
| Breaks Won | 1 | 4 |
| Total Points Won | 50 | 70 |
This victory marks the first time the Belgian player has defeated a Top 10 ranked opponent since Roland Garros in 2023. She successfully ended a streak of 14 consecutive losses against players from the top echelon.
Mertens` next opponent in Italy will be Russia`s Diana Shnaider.
Marcus Blakely 
Gilbert Pendleton