Jasmine Paolini has just clinched her first win over Iga Swiatek and she has done it in quite some style as the Italian tennis star destroyed the six-time Grand Slam champion 6-1 6-2 to reach the Wuhan semifinal.
The seventh-seeded Italian, who had lost to the Pole in all of their past six meetings, made a commanding start to their Wuhan encounter after registering early back-to-back breaks and opening a 4-0 lead. In the seventh game, the No. 7 seed earned her third break of the set to bag the opener.
After taking the first set, Paolini also went 2-0 up in the second set. While Swiatek managed to get the break back in the third game, the Italian remained unfazed and won the next four games to complete her stunning way in just over an hour of play.
Who is Paolini's next rival in Wuhan?
For a place in the Wuhan final, Paolini will battle against Coco Gauff, who hasn't dropped a set so far at the tournament. Entering the 2025 season, Gauff held a 2-0 head-to-head against the Italian. But that changed this year after the 29-year-old Italian beat the American in Stuttgart, Rome, and Cincinnati.
Meanwhile, by reaching the Wuhan semifinal, the two-time Grand Slam finalist also keeps her chances of qualifying for the WTA Finals very much alive.
In May, the Italian lifted her second WTA 1000 title after beating Gauff in Rome. Now, the Italian tennis star will hope to beat the American once again and put herself one win away from winning her maiden Wuhan title, and overall her third WTA 1000 title.
