Amid her stellar doubles campaign at the 2026 Italian Open, Taylor Townsend shared a hilarious series of photos comparing herself to some of the cheeky statues scattered around the Foro Italico complex. Townsend’s playful gesture left Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Bianca Andreescu, and others in stitches.
Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys React to Taylor Townsend’s Italian Open Statue Joke
After battling her way through the qualifiers, Townsend triumphed over Nuria Brancaccio and Marie Bouzková in the singles main draw at the Italian Open. However, she fell short against No. 16 seed Iva Jovic, who claimed a 7-5, 6-2 victory in their third-round encounter.
Townsend still has a chance to lift a trophy at the WTA 1000 event in Rome, competing in the women’s doubles event as the No. 2 seed alongside partner Kateřina Siniaková. The formidable duo received a walkover from Sorana Cîrstea and Jaqueline Cristian in the second round, allowing them to secure a spot in the quarterfinals.
While enjoying her time in Rome, Townsend shared pictures from her campaign on Instagram and humorously compared her physique to two striking statues at the Foro Italico.
“When in Rome😂🇮🇹💥… but for real who did it better🤷🏾♀️,” Townsend captioned her post.
The comical post prompted laughter from Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Bianca Andreescu, and Eva Lys in the comments section.
“😂😂😂,” Pegula commented.
“Taylor 😂😂😂,” Keys posted.
“Okkaaaaayyyyy,” Andreescu wrote.
“Wait i love this 😂😂,” Lys remarked.
On the tennis front, Townsend and Siniaková await the winner of the match between the No. 8-seeded pair of Ellen Perez and Demi Schuurs and the duo of Iva Jovic and Anna Kalinskaya in the quarterfinals. In singles, Andreescu lost to Belinda Bencic in the second round of the WTA 1000 event, while Keys was knocked out by Nikola Bartůňková. After beating Townsend, Jovic suffered a defeat to No. 3 seed Coco Gauff in the fourth round.
No. 5 seed Pegula still has a chance to win her maiden Italian Open title after overcoming Zeynep Sönmez, Rebeka Masarova, and Anastasia Potapova en route to the quarterfinals. However, she will face a tough test against No. 4 seed and three-time Rome champion Iga Świątek in a blockbuster battle for a semifinal spot.
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Ahead of their highly anticipated encounter, Świątek praised the American as a formidable rival, saying, “Jess is always a tough opponent. She is already super experienced and always calm, playing in a solid way. I will need to be ready, watch her games on the clay court, ’cause I think it’s been a while since we played on clay.”
Świątek holds a narrow 6-5 winning record against Jessica Pegula, though the American claimed a 6-4, 7-5 victory in their most recent meeting at the 2025 Bad Homburg Open. If Pegula manages to level their head-to-head record, she will face Elena Rybakina or Elina Svitolina in the semifinals in Rome.
