Resilient Paolini ends Stearns run to reach Rome final
Italy’s Jasmine Paolini was at her resilient best as she ended the run of American Peyton Stearns to reach the final of the Italian Open with a 7-5, 6-1 win on Thursday. The runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon last summer, Paolini trailed 4-1 in the first set but saved two set points – … Continued
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Italy’s Jasmine Paolini was at her resilient best as she ended the run of American Peyton Stearns to reach the final of the Italian Open with a 7-5, 6-1 win on Thursday.
The runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon last summer, Paolini trailed 4-1 in the first set but saved two set points – at 5-3 and 5-4 – to get herself back into the match. The errors began to flow from Stearns and after taking the opening set, Paolini broke early in the second as she reached her first final in Rome, and her first singles final of 2025.
The Italian, who is just the third Italian woman to reach the final in the Open era, will take on either fourth seed Coco Gauff or Qinwen Zheng, the No 8 seed, in the final.
“At the start, I was feeling myself so slow,” Paolini told Sky Sports. “I told myself I’m going to hit the ball harder because if not I would lose 6-1, 6-1. In the end, I managed to stay there and somehow I turned the match, and I’m really happy about it.”
Paolini digs deep to win opener
Stearns had made history on her way to the semis, beating Australian Open champion Madison Keys, former world No 1 Naomi Osaka and Elina Svitolina, all in final-set tiebreaks, the first woman ever to achieve such a feat on the WTA Tour.
And the former college student began well, using her thunderous forehand to great effect, breaking in the second game on her way to a 4-1 lead.
Paolini, whose form has been up and down this year to date, had the crowd to help and she used them to get herself back into the match, first getting one break back to reduce the deficit to 4-3 and then, at 5-3 and 5-4 down, saving a set point on two occasions to level at 5-5.
Stearns had a point to hold for 6-5 but couldn’t take it and Paolini broke before serving out for the opening set.
Paolini holds firm to reach first Rome final
Stearns had shown plenty of resistance herself as she reached the semis for the first time and the American regrouped at the start of the second set, pushing Paolini hard in a long second game. But Paolini held firm and then, in the next game, snatched the break to move ahead.
Stearns continued to ask questions of Paolini but the Italian had answers to everything, retrieving brilliantly and attacking whenever she had the time and court position to do so.
A second break for 4-1 put her in full control and she eased through to the final with a third break in the set.
