Jasmine Paolini has become the fourth Italian woman in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals of the French Open after knocking out an error-stricken Elena Rybakina.
The world No.15 fought her way to a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, victory in Paris to claim her first win over a top five player at a major event and only her third overall. Before the tournament, Paolini had never won back-to-back matches in Paris and only managed to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam once in 17 attempts.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said the 28-year-old 15th seed.
“It was a really tough match. I think I had a little bit too much emotion in the second set but then I said to myself ‘It’s good, she’s a great champion and this can happen.’
“I tried to hit every ball and it worked.”
Despite playing in her first major quarter-final and being the underdog, Paolini got off to a dream start against a lacklustre Rybakina. Throughout the opener, she produced a highly impressive service display by winning 16 out of 17 points behind her serve. In contrast, world No.4 Rybakina struggled for consistency on the court and produced a costly 16 unforced errors in less than 30 minutes. Paving the way for the Italian to seal a 6-2 lead with relative ease.
Heading into the second set, Paolini finally faced some stern resistance from former Wimbledon champion Rybakina, who increased the intensity of her hitting. Twice the Kazakh went down a break before she battled back to draw level. Rybakina was eventually rewarded for her fighting spirit as she snatched the second set, closing it out with the help of back-to-back errors from her opponent.
With a place in the last four at stake, the roller-coaster tussle saw continuous changes in momentum throughout the decider with neither player managing to hold their serve early on. Then towards the business end, Rybakina’s nerves got the better of her at 4-4 after she produced a series of mishits to get broken and hand Paolini a chance to serve the match out. A task Paolini passed with flying colours.
“I tried to stay there at every point and forget what happened in the second set. I managed to come back and stay focused,” Paolini said of her performance.
“It was my first time playing on this beautiful court (Philippe Chatrier). It’s a pleasure, a privilege and I’m happy that I got to win my first match played here because it is one of the best courts in tennis.”
The breakthrough comes less than a year after Paolini broke into the world’s top 30 for the first time. In February, she won her first WTA 1000 title in Dubai which was her first trophy of any kind since 2021. Overseeing her rise on the Tour is coach Renzo Furlan who reached the quarter-finals of the French Open in 1995.
Italy now has two players in the last four in Paris after Jannik Sinner reached the same stage in the men’s draw yesterday. Paolini joins Francesca Schiavone, Sara Errani and Martina Trevisan as the only Italian women to reach the French Open semi-finals in the Open Era.
She will play either Aryna Sabalenka or Mirra Andreeva for a place in the final on Thursday.
