The WTA Rome tournament gets rolling on Tuesday. There’s a combination of second-round qualifying matches and first-round main draw matches on the schedule. Including qualifying, over 100 players went to Rome to compete. The qualifying winners advance to the Round of 96 and will try to earn ranking points just before the French Open. Many players are facing matches that will affect their ability to qualify for important tournaments later this year. It’s a very busy day with a packed order of play. LWOS has our best bets for three matches. Post your best bets and thoughts in the comments.
WTA Rome
Li – Zhang: Time 6:30 EST
H2H: 2-0
Ann Li hasn’t had the best start to her 2026 season. At just 9-11 overall, Li has yet to push deep in any tournament other than WTA Rouen, where she reached the quarterfinals on a short draw. She has yet to win more than two games in any tournament. Shuai Zhang is just behind Li at 9-12 overall. There is one glaring difference between them, and that is Zhang’s semifinal run from qualifying at WTA Mérida, where she lost to Magda Frech in an extremely competitive match.
Best Bet to Make
While you might think all that praise toward the end of that last paragraph would mean I’m suggesting you pick Zhang, I am absolutely not. The big reason why you should avoid Zhang is her inability to play well on clay. Aside from the fact that Zhang rarely plays more than a handful of clay matches every year, the most she’s ever played was 18 back in 2010. She hasn’t been above .500 on clay since 2020.
That being said, betting on Li winning 2:0. is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Zhang winning 2:0 @1.84 @1xBet
Sonmez – Ruggeri: Time 5:30 EST
H2H: 0-0
Zeynep Sonmez vs Jennifer Ruggeri makes for an interesting match, if only because it’s on clay. Ruggeri most likely isn’t going to keep this match too terribly close, but it will be interesting to see if she can. She has been playing only clay events in 2026, and she’s made a final, a semifinal, and a few quarterfinals. Sonmez is well inside the top 100 players in the World at No. 65, and she’s 5-2 on clay so far in 2026. Her advantage is playing a WTA schedule, as Ruggeri plays an ITF schedule.
Best Bet to Make
As I said above, the fun in this match will come down to whether or not Ruggeri can keep this close. Will her clay schedule give her an advantage? It’s entirely possible, but the books are so convinced that Sonmez will win that some books are as high as 7:1 on the match. If you want to make any money, you need Sonmez to put in a convincing performance. I say -6 games is a solid place to draw your line.
That being said, betting on Sonmez -6 games is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Sonmez -6 games @1.83 @10Bet
Trevisan – Gibson: Time 5:30 EST
H2H: 0-0
Talia Gibson is having a pretty solid year. Between her ITF tournaments and WTA tournaments, she’s 22-10 overall, with one tournament title. Martina Trevisan is off to a very modest 9-7 in 2026, though she is 5-3 on clay. Gibson checks in at 0-2 on clay, and she doesn’t really play clay too often. In fact, she’s only played nine career matches. Trevisan is a clay specialist with nearly 400 matches played.
Best Bet to Make
The books have Gibson as the favorite in this match. I get why they think that Gibson is the favorite here. She’s inside the top 65 players in the World, and a good deal younger than Trevisan. The thing that bothers me is her total clay experience. I don’t care if you are No. 62 in the World, nine matches are nine matches. There is not a lot of stuff to be gleaned from nine matches played on a surface, especially when your opponent has 258 wins on the same surface. Take the upset, see what happens.
That being said, betting on Trevisan winning is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Trevisan winning @2.48 @Unibet
Zakharova – Yastremska: Time 5:00 EST
H2H: 0-2
Anastasia Zakharova and Dayana Yastremska have met once already this year on clay, and that match was won by Yastremska in straight sets at WTA Charleston. The first set was pretty competitive, and Yastremska needed a seventh game to take the set. The second set was less competitive. Their 2025 WTA Wimbledon match was an absolute barnburner that featured two 7-5’s and a third-set tiebreak. Can the women produce another classic?
Best Bet to Make
Yastremska is likely going to be the victor, so your bet is going to come down to the how of the victory. Given that clay seemed to be something of an advantage for Yastremska, picking her to win in straight sets wouldn’t be out of order. If you’re going to do that, go with a correct score bet over an over/under bet. You’re going to get a much better return at 1.95 on 2:0 than you are at 1.55 on under 2.5 sets.
That being said, betting on Yastremska winning 2:0 is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Yastremska winning 2:0 @1.95 @WilliamHill
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
