Anna Kalinskaya and Jelena Ostapenko meet in the round of 16 at the 2026 Italian Open on Tuesday at the Foro Italico, with the preview leaning toward over 2.5 sets. Kalinskaya already owns a 4-0 edge in the rivalry, and this will be their first meeting on clay.

That history matters because their last clash came earlier in 2026 in Dubai, where Kalinskaya beat Ostapenko in three sets. She arrives in Rome after upsetting Belinda Bencic 6-4 6-3 in the previous round, while Ostapenko advanced by beating Qinwen Zheng in a decider.

The matchup gives Kalinskaya another chance to show that the head-to-head is not a fluke, while Ostapenko gets her first shot on her opponent’s preferred terms. A clay-court debut between two players who have already taken each other deep is exactly the kind of draw that can turn a routine round-of-16 match into a long afternoon.

For Karolína Plíšková watchers, the key number is the same one that follows this pairing everywhere else: 4-0. Kalinskaya has the edge, Ostapenko has the form, and Rome now gets the first clay chapter in a rivalry that has already refused to settle quickly.