This week is the Internazionali BNL D'Italia a.k.a. Italian Open in Rome, Italy. Played on clay, it's the final ATP 1000 & WTA 1000 event before the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, France. To check out the tournament website, click here.
Since I am currently traveling in Italy, I thought it would be fun to take a look at how often success in Rome leads to success in Paris. I.e. How often does winning the Italian Open translate to winning the French Open? To keep things somewhat current/modern, I'll focus on the years 1990 to the present day.
Starting with the men's side, the following players have won both the Italian Open and French Open in the same season since 1990: Jim Courier (1992), Thomas Muster (1995), Rafael Nadal (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2018, & 2019).
As for men who at least reached the French Open final after at least reaching the Italian Open final since 1990, we can add the following to the list already posted: Jim Courier (1993 won Italian; lost French), Gustavo Kuerton (2000 & 2001 lost Italian; won French), Roger Federer (2006 lost Italian; lost French), Novak Djokovic (2012 lost Italian; lost French), Novak Djokovic (2014, 2015, & 2020 won Italian; lost French), Novak Djokovic (2016 & 2021 lost Italian; won French), Andy Murray (2016 won Italian; lost French), and Alexander Zverev (2024 won Italian; lost French).
Switching gears to the women's side, the following players have won both the Italian Open and French Open in the same season since 1990: Monica Seles (1990), Serena Williams (2002 & 2013), Maria Sharapova (2012), and Iga Swiatek (2022 & 2024).
As for women who at least reached the French Open final after at least reaching the Italian Open since 1990, we can add the following to the list already posted: Monica Seles (1991& 1992 lost Italian; won French), Kim Clijsters (2003 won Italian; lost French), Svetlana Kuznetsova (2009 lost Italian; won French), Serena Williams (2016 won Italian; lost French), Simona Halep (2017 lost Italian; lost French), and Simona Halep (2018 lost Italian; won French).
One other crazy stat I wanted to point out is Conchita Martinez won the Italian Open from 1993-96. Not once did she reach the French Open final during those years. Her lone trip to the final at Roland Garros wouldn't come until 2000 where she lost to Mary Pierce 6-2, 7-5. Ironically, the only grand slam Martinez won was Wimbledon in 1994. Given Martinez got ranked as high as No. 2 in the world during that four year stretch, you would think she would have won at least French Open, let alone reach a French Open final.
Looking at all of this big-picture, there's a decent amount of seasons where players have won both the Italian Open and French Open in the same year since 1990: 10 on the men's side and six on the women's side. However, the number of players who have done it is much lower since Nadal did it eight times alone. Only three men have done it and only four women have done it. However, there is a solid amount who have at least reached the final in both.
I think it's safe to say that while it is far from a guarantee that winning the Italian Open will lead to winning the French Open in the same season, it's still a good thing to have a strong performance in Rome. If you perform well there, you'll come to Paris with a lot of momentum and confidence. It'll certainly be interesting to see how this week goes in Rome and whether or not this year's champions will be able to add their name to the list of players who have won both the Italian Open and French Open in the same season.
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