Following the first WTA 1000 tournament of the Clay-Court swing in Madrid, the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz heads to Rome for the 83rd edition of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

Played at the historic Foro Italico, the Italian Open is one of the crown jewels of the WTA Tour, and the final WTA 1000 before the French Open.

Here's everything you need to know ahead of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, from important dates and top players to the defending champions and the prize money at stake.

When does the tournament start, and when will each round be played?

Qualifying action will get underway on Monday, May 4, and the first round will start the following day. The doubles tournament will start at the end of the week, on Sunday, May 10.

The tournament will run through Sunday, May 17. The singles final will be played on May 16 at 5 p.m. local time, and the doubles final will take place on the 17th at 12 p.m. local time.

Below are the daily schedules for singles and doubles play.

Singles schedule

Qualifying: May 4 and May 5First round: May 5 and May 6Second round: May 7 and May 8Third round: May 9 and May 10Fourth round: May 11Quarterfinals: May 12 and May 13Semifinals: May 14Final: May 16

Doubles schedule

First round: May 10, May 11 and May 12Second round: May 12 and May 13Quarterfinals: May 14Semifinals: May 15Final: May 17

How big is the draw, and who are the top players in the field?

Like the Mutua Madrid Open, the Internazionali BNL d'Italia features a 96-player draw. There are 76 direct entries, 12 qualifiers and eight wild cards.

The field is predictably loaded, with every player in the Top 20 of the PIF WTA Rankings competing. 

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka leads the field, and she'll be joined by Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova, Elina Svitolina, Jasmine Paolini, Victoria Mboko and Mirra Andreeva.

Anisimova will be making her clay debut after missing Madrid with a wrist injury.

Other notable names in the draw include Belinda Bencic, Naomi Osaka, Iva Jovic, Madison Keys, Emma Raducanu, Qinwen Zheng and Alexandra Eala.

Emma Navarro is also scheduled to return to action for the first time since early March.

The last five direct entrants were Daria Kasatkina, Panna Udvardy, Kamilla Rakhimova, Oksana Selekhmeteva and Yulia Putintseva.

For the full player list, click here.

The draw will be revealed on May 4 at 11 a.m.

Withdrawals: Marketa Vondrousova, Sonay Kartal, Varvara Gracheva, Veronika Kudermetova

Main-draw additions: Eva Lys, Zeynep Sonmez, Petra Marcinko, Solana Sierra, Viktorija Golubic

Wild cards: Lucrezia Stefanini, Nuria Brancaccio, Lisa Pigato, Lucia Bronzetti, Jennifer Ruggeri, Tyra Caterina Grant, Martina Trevisan, and one more player yet to be announced

Who are the defending champions?

Last year's champion was a historic one. Playing in front of Italian president Sergio Mattarella, Paolini defeated Gauff 6-4, 6-2 in the final to become the first Italian women's singles champion at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in 40 years. Not since Raffaella Reggi in 1985 had an Italian woman hoisted the singles trophy at the Italian Open. 

After clinching the match with an unreturned serve, Paolini stretched her arms out wide, smiling from ear to ear in pure jubilation, and soaked in the moment of her career.

"It's pure joy to have this trophy in my hands here in Rome, at home," Paolini said. "Really happy about it and grateful, as well ... It's a dream to win in Rome, of course, for every kid that's playing in Italy. I'm enjoying the moment. It's an amazing one."

The following day, making the sweetest week of her career even sweeter, an exhausted Paolini won the doubles title with countrywoman and close friend Sara Errani, completing the Rome sweep. In the final they beat Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens 6-4, 7-5 after trailing 4-0 in both sets.

Paolini is hardly the only defending champion in this year's field. Swiatek is a three-time champion, having most recently won the title in 2024, and Rybakina won in 2023. Svitolina won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, and Karolina Pliskova won it all in 2019.

What are the rankings points and prize money at stake?

There is $8,312,293 up for grabs in the singles draw, as well as 1,000 rankings points for the champion.

Here is the full prize money and rankings points breakdown for the singles competitors.

Champion: €1,055,285 (~ $1,234,235) | 1,000 rankings pointsFinalist: €549,335 (~ $642,488) | 650 rankings pointsSemifinalists: €289,115 (~ $338,142) | 390 rankings pointsQuarterfinalists: €150,000 (~ $175,436) | 215 rankings pointsRound of 16: €79,510 (~ $92,993) | 120 rankings pointsRound of 32: €46,080 (~ $53,894) | 65 rankings pointsRound of 64: €25,515 (~ $29,842) | 35 rankings pointsRound of 96: €15,815  (~ $18,497) | 10 rankings points

The doubles champions will take home €368,630 (approximately $431,140) and 1,000 rankings points.

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