Paolini wins first WTA 1000 title, beats qualifier Kalinskaya in Dubai

Jasmine Paolini came from a set down and then a break down in the final set to win the Dubai title, beating qualifier Anna Kalinskaya 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.

The Italian was 3-5 down in the decider with her opponent serving for the championship but held her nerve to fire back.

“It’s so special, I’m really happy, it was a really tough match, she played an unbelievable week,” Paolini said on court afterwards.

When asked how she managed to come back to win, she replied: “I tried to stay focused every point and believe it…I’m really proud of myself.”

She is only the third player to win the title in Dubai after losing her opening set in the tournament, following Justine Henin (who did it twice, in 2003 and 2007) and Simona Halep (in 2020).

More than that, she is the first woman to make a comeback win in a WTA 1000 final since Naomi Osaka managed it against Ash Barty in Beijing 2019; the last 27 consecutive WTA 1000 finals have been won by the player who won the opening set.

And it did look like that streak would continue as it took Kalinskaya only 36 minutes to take the first set, and broke Paolini’s serve in the first game of the second.

But the Italian came back from the brink multiple times to win the biggest title of her career – and her first since 2021, when she won in Portoroz, beating Kalinskaya along the way.

She is now set to break into the Top 15 for the first time when the rankings are released.

Kalinskaya – who is the first qualifier to reach the final in Dubai – will also reach a new career high by breaking into the Top 25.

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