Jasmine Paolini pulled off a sensational upset by beating fourth seed Elena Rybakina in three sets in a women’s singles quarterfinal as she became the second Italian player after Jannik Sinner to reach the semifinals at the French Open here on Wednesday. Paolini quelled a second-set fight back by Rybakina to win 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 at Court Philippe-Chatrier.
It will be a first semi-final at a major for Paolini who’ll play either Aryna Sabalenka or Mirra Andreeva in Thursday’s semifinals. On Tuesday, fellow Italian Jannik Sinner booked his place in the men’s semifinals where he’ll play Carlos Alcaraz on Friday.
After a spectacular opening set, Paolini twice led by a break in the second set, and then twice more early in the decider before a gritty Rybakina fought back. But in a nailbiting decider, it was Paolini — who was playing in her first major quarterfinal — who held firm at the close of the biggest match of her career so far.
The 28-year-old 12th seed Paolini completely dominated the one-sided first set, breaking Rybakina in the first and seventh games to win 6-2. Rybakina effected a crucial break in the 10th game with a backhand forcing shot to win the second set 6-4.
Paolini held her nerve superbly over the closing stages. She broke for a 5-4 lead in the decider before finishing the job after just over two hours.
Currently ranked No.15 in the world, Paolini became the fourth Italian woman to reach the last four at Roland Garros in the Open Era, following in the footsteps of 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone, 2012 finalist Sara Errani and 2022 semifinalist Martina Trevisan.
It would be a busy day for Paolini at the French Open on Wednesday as she will be partnering compatriot Sara Errani, who was watching her triumph from the stands, in the women’s doubles quarterfinals. The Italians, who won the recent Rome doubles trophy, are set to play the last match on Court 14 against Emma Navarro and Diana Shnaider on Wednesday.
Paolini is one of three players still in the singles and doubles in Paris, a trio that also includes Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva.
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