Jasmine Paolini came back from one set down to beat Anna Kalinskaya 4-6 7-5 7-5 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships to win the second WTA Tour title of her career after Portoroz in 2021 and the first WTA 1000 title. Paolina became the third Italian player to win a WTA 1000 title after Flavia Pennetta in Indian Wells in 2014 and Camila Giorgi in Montreal in 2021. In Dubai Paolini came back from a set and a break down to beat Beatriz Haddad Maia in the first round before beating two top 30 players Maria Sakkari and Sorana Cirstea. She came back from a set and break down in the final against Anna Kalinskaya before rallying for 3-5 down in the third set to win the match.
Paolini has climbed to a career-high of number 14 in the WTA Ranking and number 6 in the WTA Race. Her win in Dubai has continued the golden period of Italian one month after Jannik Sinner’s first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
Jasmine’s father is Ugo Paolini and her mother is Jacqueline Gardiner, who is of Ghanaian and Polish descent. She grew up in Bagni di Lucca in Tuscany.
“When I young, my mother was speaking to me in Polish. Now I can speak Polish, but I also forgot some words. For example, Magdalena Frech is speaking to me and I am always like: ‘Please speak slow because sometimes I would like to say something in Polish and I say one word in English”, said Paolini.
Paolini grew up playing on the clay courts in Tuscany and did not play a hard-court tournament until she was a teenager.
“I think the first time I played on hard-court when I was 14 years old. Before, maybe I practiced a few times at the National Tennis Center on hard court, but in Italy now it’s a little bit better, but before in Tuscany there are few of them. So it’s not easy to practice and to adapt for young players. At the beginning, I remember I was thinking that on clay court It’s a completely different tennis, which is true, but not too much. It’s still tennis, on clay or hard court it’s still the same, but I was thinking that on clay court I can use topspin, I can move better and on hard courts I have to play on the baseline and I cannot move backwards. When I won my first WTA title on hard courts I was really surprised. I did not think that my first WTA title is going to be on hard court. From that point I think I realized that I can play well on this surface ”, said Jasmine Paolini to WTA Insider Podcast”.
Paolini finished the 2023 season by breaking into the to 30 for the first time in her career. She reached number 29 on 23 October 2023 after finishin runner-up to Elise Mertens in Monastir. She reached the final in Palermo and the semifinal at Zhengzhou as well as the qarter finals in Lyon and in Cincinnati losing to eventual champion Coco Gauff.
“I think every person has her own steps. I needed some more time to believe maybe that I could play at this level, how I did this week. I know it’s not going to be like this every week. It’s tough. It’s the best players in the world, but I am her enjoying my tennis, enjoying the matches on court. I am just loving what I do, just trying to live in the present, to stay there, the make the best I could do in the moment”, said Paolini.
Paolini has improved year after year since breaking the top 100 in 2019 and began the 2024 season ranked world number 30. Paolini, who is coached by former Italian player Renzo Furlan, reached the fourth round for the first time at Grand Slam level at the Australian Open.
“I am focusing on the process, on improving my game because I think that this is the key, to try to do better because I don’t want to have too much high expecations because this is not good for me, but my coach told me the goal this year is to win a tournament. I did not expect so early and such a big event”, said Paolini.
