The Italian Open served as the fifth Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Masters 1000 and Women's Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 tournament of the year, but play was impacted by the weather at the Foro Italico on several days, with rain delaying both finals.

Wimbledon champion Rybakina earned her second WTA 1000 win of the year against Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina in the final.

Rybakina had taken the first set 6-4 and held serve in the first game of the second, when her opponent was forced to retire because of a thigh injury.

World number 47 Kalinina was the lowest-ranked Italian Open women's singles finalist since 1985 after beating neutral Russian player Veronika Kudermetova 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 in the semi-finals.

The match marked the latest incident in which a Ukrainian player refused to shake hands with a Russian opponent since Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion last year.

Kalinina explained: "We didn’t shake hands because the girl is from Russia basically.

"It’s no secret why I didn’t shake, because this country actually attacks Ukraine.

"So yeah, this is sport, I understand, but it’s also kind of political thing.

"So, yeah, it has nothing personal.

"But in general, yes, it’s not acceptable."

Kalinina did embrace Rybakina, born in Russia but who has represented Kazakhstan since 2018, in the final.

Rybakina herself was involved in a heated semi-final against Latvia's Jeļena Ostapenko.

The world number six triumphed 6-2, 6-4, but reports have suggested Rybakina's Croatian coach Stefano Vukov told her she had been called a "bitch" during a rain delay.

Neither player commented on the alleged incident afterwards.

World number one and three-time Grand Slam winner Iga Świątek of Poland retired from her quarter-final match against Rybakina with a thigh injury in the third set, when the scores were locked at 2-2.

Świątek has since shared that she remains hopeful she can defend her French open title with the Grand Slam due to start next Sunday (May 28).

Australian Open winner and world number two Aryna Sabalenka, a Belarusian playing as a neutral, has been in fine form this season, including a win at the Madrid Open earlier this month.

However, she suffered a surprise 7-6, 6-2 defeat to the United States' Sofia Kenin in the second round.

In the men's singles, former world number one Medvedev earned his first-ever clay title, having previously expressed his dislike of the surface.

He proved too strong for Denmark's Holger Rune, prevailing 7-5, 7-5 in the final to earn a second ATP Masters 1000 win of the year.

Medvedev had won by the same scoreline against Greece's Australian Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals, and his run to the final, also including a 6-2, 7-6 fourth-round win against Germany's Olympic champion Alexander Zverev, still seeking his best form after a horrific injury suffered at last year's French Open.

Rune had beaten Serbia's 22-time Grand Slam winner and world number one Novak Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the quarter-finals, and won his semi-final clash against last year's French Open finalist Casper Ruud of Norway in three sets too, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2.

World number two Carlos Alcaraz of Spain suffered a third-round upset 6-3, 7-6 to Hungarian qualifier Fábián Marozsán.

The second Grand Slam of the year and the only one of the four played on clay is due to be played at Roland Garros from May 28 to June 11.