Jasmine Paolini cruised past six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek 6-1 6-2 in 65 minutes to reach the semifinal at the Wuhan Open.
Swiatek beat for the first time Swiatek after losing all of their six previous head-to-head matches.
Paolini will take on Coco Gauff in the semifinal. Gauff beat Paolini in their first two head-to-head matches in Adelaide 2021 and Cincinnati in 2023, but lost the most recent matches in Stuttgart, Rome and Cincinnati.
Paolini hit 15 winners to 3 unforced errors.
Paolini earned an early break at love with a return winner in the first game. The 2025 Rome WTA 1000 winner went up a double break to open up a 4-0 lead. Swiatek held serve, but Paolini broke for the third time in the seventh game to close out the first set 6-1.
Paolini went up a 2-0 lead with a break in the second game of the second set. Swiatek pulled the break back in the third game, but Paolini broke back at love with another return winner to take a 3-1 lead. Paolini sealed the win with her third break on the first match point in the eighth game.
“Finally I won a matchI’m super happy about my level. Just feels amazing”, said Paolini in the post-match interview.
