Coco Gauff outpaces Zheng Qinwen to set up a semifinal matchup with Iga Swiatek in Rome.

There are many ways to end a tennis match with a flourish: You might do it with a line-clipping ace, a fearsome forehand, or even a tweener. On Tuesday in Rome, Coco Gauff, who ran track in high school, did it in her own, unique way: With an improvised version of the long jump. When her opponent Zheng Qinwen’s final shot careened over the baseline, Gauff had to make a flying leap to avoid touching the ball. After she came back to earth—smiling and seemingly unhurt—Gauff had one of her best wins of 2024, 7-6 (4), 6-1 to move into the semifinals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

This was a first-time matchup of mirror-image young stars. Gauff is 20, Zheng 21. Gauff is ranked No. 3, Zheng No. 7. Gauff won her first major title at the US Open last year; Zheng made her first major final at the Australian Open this year. Both love their two-handed backhands, and both are expected to win more big titles, and help carry the WTA, and their respective nation’s tennis fortunes, for the next decade or more.