Jasmine Paolini (Italian pronunciation:[dʒaˈzminpaoˈliːni];[1] born 4 January 1996) is an Italian professional tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of world No. 14 in singles and No. 37 in doubles achieved in 2024.
Paolini has won two singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, including a WTA 1000 singles title at the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships. She has also won two singles titles on the WTA Challenger Tour along with nine titles in singles and one doubles title on the ITF Circuit. She is the current Italian No. 1 female player.
Personal life
Paolini was born to an Italian father and a mother of Ghanaian and Polish descent.[2]
Professional career
2015: WTA Tour doubles debut
Paolini was given a wildcard into the main draw of the doubles tournament at the Italian Open, partnering with Nastassja Burnett.
2018: First WTA Tour wins
After failing to qualify for the Australian Open, Paolini joined the Italian team in the Fed Cup on two occasions.
She won her first titles in doubles and singles, respectively, at the Hamburg European Open in July, and at the Slovenia Open in Portoroz in September, defeating three seeded players en route. As a result, she moved in the rankings to world No. 64, on 20 September 2021.
In October, she reached for the first time the third round of a WTA 1000 tournament at the Indian Wells Open as a lucky loser where she defeated 14th seed Elise Mertens in the second round.
She repeated the feat at the Indian Wells Open reaching again the third round, defeating second seed Aryna Sabalenka for the first top-10 win in her career.[4] As a result, she entered the WTA 1000 tournaments, the Madrid Open and her home one in Rome, directly into the main draw.[5]
2023: WTA 1000 quarterfinal, Italian No. 1, top 30
She again entered directly the WTA Tour tournament in Rome where she lost to world No. 6, seventh seed and eventual champion Elena Rybakina in the second round.
She reached the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 in Cincinnati as a qualifier for the first time in her career, defeating this time fourth seed Elena Rybakina after retirement due to injury. This was the second top-10 win of her career.[8]
At the WTA 1000 Guadalajara Open, she reached the semifinals in doubles, partnering Mayar Sherif.
On her debut at the next WTA 1000, the China Open, she advanced to the third round of a WTA 1000 for the third time in 2023, defeating 15th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, her third top-20 win of the season,[9] and Yue Yuan. As a result, she climbed to world No. 31 and became the Italian No. 1 player.
At the WTA 500 Zhengzhou Open, she reached the quarterfinals saving four match points, with a win over sixth seed Caroline Garcia for her second top-10 win of the season and third in her career.[10][11] Next, she defeated qualifier Laura Siegemund to reach her first WTA 500 semifinal.
Jasmine reached her second WTA Tour final of the season at the Jasmin Open in Monastir but lost to defending champion Elise Mertens. But she won her second doubles title there, with compatriot Sara Errani.
2024: First WTA 1000 title, top 15
At the 2024 Australian Open she reached the fourth round for the first time in her career, having never previously been past the second round of a major, with wins over Diana Shnaider, Tatjana Maria[12] and Anna Blinkova.[13] She was then defeated by first-time fourth rounder Anna Kalinskaya. Despite the loss, she moved to a new career-high ranking in the top 25.[14] At Dubai, she reached her second quarterfinal at the WTA 1000 level, defeating eleventh seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, Leylah Fernandez[15] and eight seed Maria Sakkari. She reached her first final at this level, following a withdrawal from fourth seed Elena Rybakina[16] and a win over Sorana Cîrstea. She won her first WTA 1000 title defeating qualifier Anna Kalinskaya, avenging her Australian Open loss earlier in the season. As a result, she moved into the top 15 in the rankings on 26 February 2024.[17][18]
At the next WTA 1000, she reached the fourth round defeating Tatjana Maria and 21st seed Anna Kalinskaya again.
Performance timelines
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
P#
DNQ
A
Z#
PO
G
S
B
NMS
NTI
P
NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
^ abThe first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open from 2009 until 2024. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009 to 2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.