The WTA Rome tournament Round of 16 is played on Monday. The WTA’s Sunday schedule was surprisingly lopsided. Seven of the eight matches were straight-set wins, and none of those seven matches were closer than 6-4, 6-3. Players with large game spreads were able to cover them. Underdogs got pounded, with the one exception being Nikola Bartunkova upsetting Madison Keys in the day’s only three-set match. Will we see another day with favorites dominating, or will the underdogs bounce back? LWOS has our best bets for four matches. Post your best bets and thoughts in the comments.
WTA Rome
Cirstea – Noskova: Time 5:00 EST
H2H: 2-2
Sorana-Mihaela Cirstea beat a World No. 1 player for the first time in her long career this past Saturday. She was down 6-2, 2-0 to Aryna Sabalenka but came storming back to win 7-5 in the third set. Cirstea was able to repeatedly break Sabalenka’s serve and deliver one of the most memorable victories she has ever achieved. Now we get to see if Cirstea can back it up against top-15 opponent Linda Noskova, who has looked very solid in Rome and is trying to build on her quarterfinal run in Madrid with another quarterfinal appearance in Italy.
Best Bet to Make
Both players are playing well, but Cirstea beating Sabalenka was an extra-special performance. Cirstea will have a lot of confidence going into this match. Even if she loses the first set, Cirstea will know, having regrouped to beat Sabalenka, that she can mount a comeback. Noskova deserves respect, but Cirstea won even more respect against the World No. 1 a few days ago. It’s really hard to bet against Cirstea here, given that Noskova is not a top-five opponent. Noskova could be in the process of becoming that kind of player, but she hasn’t gotten there yet.
That being said, betting on Cirstea winning is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Cirstea winning @2.14 @Pinnacle
Gauff – Jovic: Time 6:30 EST
H2H: 0–0
This match will be one of the more interesting battles in the Rome Round of 16. Coco Gauff has not been playing her best tennis. She is struggling to find her form in what has been a difficult 2026 season for her. Even when she wins, it’s not easy. She won a tough three-set match over Solana Sierra in her most recent Rome match. Iva Jovic has scored two consecutive wins in Rome, both in straight sets. She is in good form and will try to create another big upset at a tournament where Aryna Sabalenka, the World No. 1, has already been knocked out.
Best Bet to Make
This match is likely to be close. Gauff just isn’t performing up to her standards, and her forehand has not been firing accurately. That’s when Coco can really struggle. Even if Gauff wins, Jovic is likely to make this match competitive. You will get a good price for Jovic +1.5 sets. You could fold a Gauff moneyline bet into a parlay while making the set spread bet on Jovic as a single bet.
That being said, betting on Jovic +1.5 sets is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Jovic +1.5 sets @2.05 @10Bet
Kalinskaya – Ostapenko: Time 7:00 EST
H2H: 4-0
Anna Kalinskaya is 4-0 head-to-head against Jelena Ostapenko, but Ostapenko is the slight favorite in the betting markets. Why would this be the case? Partly because Ostapenko is a former French Open champion and is known as a player who, on a good day, is going to beat her opponent. Ostapenko just scored a good, tough win over Qinwen Zheng, too, which also earned the respect of the markets. Anna Kalinskaya, however, is playing well. She just beat Belinda Bencic and is having a terrific Rome tournament. This should be interesting.
Best Bet to Make
If you followed our advice on the Ostapenko-Zheng match, you cashed in big time. We said to bet on the match going three sets (over 2.5 sets) at 2.50, and the bet hit. Ostapenko is notorious for playing up-and-down matches that go three sets. Each of her last two matches in Rome have gone three sets. Why get off this train when you can keep riding it? Three sets it is.
That being said, betting on over 2.5 sets is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: over 2.5 sets @2.30 @bet-at-home
Mertens – Andreeva: Time 8:00 EST
H2H: 0-0
We have seen multiple players save match points and win in Rome. Anna Kalinskaya saved nine match points against Katerina Siniakova. Another player who saved match points and went on to win was Elise Mertens against Jasmine Paolini on Saturday. Mertens played an Italian in Rome and was able to defeat her opponent in front of a partisan crowd, which was rooting against her. That was really impressive. Mertens now faces Mirra Andreeva, who has had a really good clay season after struggling a lot on hardcourts earlier in the year.
Best Bet to Make
Yes, Mertens fought hard and well to beat Paolini. However, Jasmine Paolini is having a very difficult season and is not playing her best. She is not the same player who thrived for much of 2024 and 2025. For that reason, we’re not going to put too much stock in Mertens. Andreeva is the true in-form player of the two and can win this match convincingly. We’re going to go with Andreeva in straight sets. The markets have good prices for 1.5 sets on both sides of the bet (plus and minus). We’re going to pick Andreeva.
That being said, betting on Andreeva winning 2:0 is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Andreeva winning 2:0 @1.94 @Unibet
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
