Canadians Andreescu, Shapovalov ousted from Italian Open clay-court tournament

ROME — Canadians Bianca Andreescu and Denis Shapovalov were eliminated from the Italian Open clay-court tournament on Thursday.

Andreescu was defeated 6-4, 6-1 by 12th seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the women’s second round, while Shapovalov dropped his men’s opening-round match 6-4, 6-2 to Argentina’s Mariano Navone.

Bencic converted four of her six breaks in a dominant second set to wrap up the match in one hour 17 minutes.

Andreescu, of Mississauga, Ont., struggled with her serve and committed seven double-faults.

Bencic advanced to the third round of the Italian Open for the first time and will next face 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya of Russia.

Andreescu had advanced to the second round in Rome with her first win at a WTA 1000 event this season, a 6-4, 7-5 win over Sofia Kenin of the United States.

Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., also struggled on serve, landing just 52 per cent of his first serves and winning only 10 of 31 points on his second serve.

He committed five double-faults and faced 15 break points, saving 10.

Shapovalov fell to 0-2 against Navone, with the Argentine winning their first meeting last year at Wimbledon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2026.

The Canadian Press