Coco Gauff will play against Jasmine Paolini in a clash between two top 10 players at the Porsche Indoor Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Gauff leads 2-0 in her head-to-head matches against Paolini and won their previous matches in Adelaide round of 32 in three sets in 2021 and Cincinnati quarter finals in 2023. They will play their first match on clay.
Gauff lost to Paula Badosa in the quarter final of the Australian Open last January. Paolini, who reached two Grand Slam finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and won the Olympic doubles title with Sara Errani in Paris in 2024, lost to world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal at the Miami Open.
Coco Gauff: “I think she’s an incredible mover and she has a really good forehand. Everybody knows about Jasmine and also the fight that she has in her. She never gives up. I have never seen her do that on the court. It’s going to be a tough one on Saturday, but I think that it’s going to be good preparation for Roland Garros for me.”
Gauff beat German lucky loser Elle Seidel 6-1 6-1 in her first match. Paolini started her Stuttgart campaign with a comfortable 6-2 6-1 win over German player Eva Lys. She faced a tougher match against another German player Jule Niemeier in the second round. Niemeier came back from a break down twice in the second set and held a set point on Paolini’s serve at 5-4 but she was not able to convert it. Paolini earned a break and served out the second set 7-5.
Paolini has a win-loss record of four wins to just one defeat and reached the quarter final in every appearance at this tournament.
Both players are looking to reach the semifinal in Stuttgart for the first time.
Gauff and Paolini have a good record on clay as both reached the final at Roland Garros in 2022 and 2024 respectively.
Jasmine Paolini: “We know each other. I have practiced with her in the last six months. She is a really tough player. She can play really well. Her ball is so powerful. I don’t know what to expect, but for sure, I need to try to be aggressive, to try to control the point. It’s not going to be easy, because she’s serving good, moving good, and returning good. She’s basically very complete player to me. I have to be there every point.”
