First career final in a WTA 1000 tournament. Jasmine Paolini's Friday is one to remember. The Italian tennis player from Castelnuovo di Garfagnana got the better of Romanian Sorana Cirstea, securing her pass for the Dubai final that will take place on Saturday at 4 pm.
Jasmine Paolini in the WTA 1000 final in Dubai: Cirstea defeated in two sets
The fourth Italian ever to succeed after Flavia Pennetta, Sara Errani, and Camilla Giorgi. Now a piece of Italian women's tennis history can be written by Jasmine Paolini, who will be 16th in the world ranking from Monday. In two sets (6-2, 7-6), she got rid of the experienced Romanian tennis player, despite suffering in the second set, showing great resilience and mental strength. On Saturday she will play the Dubai final against the Russian tennis player Anna Kalinskaja.
Her statements after the semifinal victory: «I was a little scared and got nervous. Cirstea is a fantastic player, she hit winners after winners and I was a little worried because she managed to make a great comeback. I wouldn't have believed I could get this far, I'm really happy. I experienced a little drama at the end but it went well. It's definitely the best moment of my career: 16th in the world? I can't believe it. I will try to play a great match tomorrow, it will be a very tough game».
Who is Jasmine Paolini: age, height, and career
Born in 1996, the 28-year-old Jasmine Paolini, 163 cm tall, is the daughter of an Italian father (Lucca) and a Ghanaian mother of Polish origin. She has been in the tennis circuits for more than 10 years, only now is she starting to emerge at high levels. Jasmine started playing tennis as a child, at the age of 10 she started participating in important tournaments, until 2015 when she debuted among the big ones, with the qualifications for the Internazionali di Roma. In February 2017 she received the call in blue to play doubles with Martina Trevisan in the challenge to Slovakia.
In June she achieved the first great satisfaction of her career with the victory of the Marseille tournament against the favorite Tatjana Maria. The turning year for Paolini is 2019: the victory against compatriot Sara Errani in Bogotá, the entry into the main draw in Prague. Jasmine manages to climb positions reaching position 118.
In 2024 she makes the definitive switch that today allows her to play the Dubai final. The beginning of the year is really good, with the victory at the United Cup against the world number one Angelique Kerber. In Australia she pulls out the wild card, overcoming at the debut the Russian Diana Snaider and then the German Tatjana Maria reaching for the first time in her career the third round of a Slam.
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