Iga Świątek defeated Karolína Plíšková in the final, 6–0, 6–0 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2021 Italian Open. It was her first WTA 1000 singles title, and the 13 points Świątek lost in the championship match is the fewest on record in a WTA 1000-level final (Serena Williams previously held the record, from the 2015 Miami Open final). This was the first WTA Tour singles final to be resolved with a 'double bagel' scoreline since Simona Halep defeated Anastasija Sevastova at the 2016 Bucharest Open, and was just the tenth such final in WTA Tour history. With the win, Świątek broke into the top 10 of the WTA rankings for the first time.[1] Both finalists saved match points in prior rounds – Świątek saved two match points in her third round match against Barbora Krejčíková,[2] whilst Plíšková saved three match points in her quarterfinal match against Jeļena Ostapenko.[3]
This was Serena Williams' last appearance in Rome, which was ended by the hands of Nadia Podoroska in the straight sets loss in the second round. The loss also ended Williams' 21-match winning streak in the tournament dating back to 2012. The streak includes three Italian Open titles. The last loss before this tournament was in 2010 against Jelena Janković, despite Williams having a match point in the final set.
Bold denotes the mandatory tournaments (WTA 1000) † – Tournaments are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic * – Tournaments are introduced due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic