Under Federer’s eye, Paolini reaches her first Wimbledon quarterfinal since her 2024 final run
Jasmine Paolini won against Alexandra Eala 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Monday afternoon. She’ll play Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, the No 12 seed, in the next round
Jasmine Paolini, Wimbledon 2026 | © Action Plus / PsNewz
Jasmine Paolini reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Monday, beating Filipino Alexandra Eala 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in the fourth round to return to the last eight at the All England Club for the first time since her run to the 2024 final. It is the third Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career, and reward for a season the Italian has fought through struggles and injury to reach this stage.
Watching from the stands was Roger Federer, and Paolini admitted his presence tested her nerve. “I want to thank Roger, because he’s my idol,” she said. “It was tough. During the match I was like, ‘please stay focused, don’t think about the fact that he’s here.’ I was watching all the finals in all the tournaments he played here.”
There was defiance in the manner of her progress, too. Paolini opened the tournament by losing the first set to love, 6-0 against American Robin Montgomery, before winning 0-6, 6-4, 7-5 – a recovery that made her only the second woman in the Open Era to reach a Wimbledon singles quarterfinal after being bagelled in her opening set of the event, matching Mima Jausovec in 1981. She also came through Greek Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-2 and Swiss Viktorija Golubic 7-6, 6-4.
Defeat ended a landmark run for Eala. The No. 29 seed became the first Filipina in history to reach the second week of a Grand Slam, a breakthrough built on her third-round upset of world No. 3 Iga Swiatek 7-6 (9), 6-2, and she leaves having put Filipino tennis firmly on the map.
Paolini will next meet Ukrainian No. 12 seed Marta Kostyuk, who beat American qualifier Ashlyn Krueger to reach her own first Wimbledon quarterfinal.
Wimbledon 2016, women’s singles, fourth round
N. Osaka [14] d. A. Sabalenka [1]: 6-2, 7-6(2)
K. Muchova [10] d. B. Krejcikova: 7-5, 5-7, 6-3
J. Pegula [4] d. I. Jovic [16]: 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
C. Gauff [7] d. B. Bencic [11]: 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
M. Kostyuk [12] d. A. Krueger (Q): 6-4, 6-4
J. Paolini [13] d. A. Eala [29]: 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
M. Keys [26] vs L. Noskova [9] – Monday
E. Mertens [25] d. M. Bouzkova [21] – 6-4, 6-4
