Loading player
On Wednesday the Italian tennis player Jasmine Paolini qualified for the semi-final of Roland Garros, after beating Kazakh Elena Rybakina in three sets in the quarterfinals (with a score of 6-1, 4-6, 6-4): Roland Garros is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, the most important and prestigious of the tennis season, and for Paolini it is clearly the best result in his career in one of these tournaments. With this victory Paolini, 28 years old, is already sure that from next Monday she will rise to at least tenth place in the women’s world rankings (she could even do better, if she were to continue in the tournament): she is only the fifth Italian ever to do so, and the ninth in history to qualify for the semifinal of a Slam.
Paolini’s victory against Rybakina is also very prestigious and partly unexpected, given that the Kazakh is one of the strongest tennis players around and is currently number 4 in the world ranking. Before this tournament Paolini was fifteenth in the ranking. In the semi-final Paolini will face the winner of the quarter-final between the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka and the Russian Mirra Andreeva. There will therefore be two Italian tennis players in the singles semi-finals of Roland Garros: before Paolini Jannik Sinner also qualified on Tuesday.
Paolini’s celebrations after the victory against Rybakina (EPA/YOAN VALAT)
Paolini has been the best Italian tennis player around for some time now and has been in very good shape for months: last February she won her first tournament in the WTA 1000 category in Dubai, second in importance only to the Slams, and in April she reached the 12th position in the ranking. Paolini’s best result so far in a Slam was the round of 16 at this year’s Australian Open. Before her, the Italians who entered the top ten tennis players in the world (at least since modern rankings existed) were Francesca Schiavone, Sara Errani, Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci.
2024-06-05 14:31:03
#Jasmine #Paolini #semifinals #Roland #Garros
