Unstoppable Paolini sestroys Swiatek in Wuhan masterclass
Jasmine Paolini won against Iga Swiatek 6-1, 6-2 on Friday. She’ll play American Coco Gauff, the No 3 seed, in the next round
Jasmine Paolini, Wuhan 2025 – © Imago / Psnewz
In a stunning upset at the 2025 Wuhan Open, Jasmine Paolini defeated Iga Swiatek in emphatic fashion, capturing her first career win over the Polish star with a convincing 6–1, 6–2 victory in just 65 minutes. This match marked a turning point in their head-to-head rivalry, as Paolini had lost all six previous encounters and had managed to win only one set through those meetings.
From the first ball, Paolini asserted dominance. She broke Swiatek’s serve repeatedly, converting 6 out of 6 break point chances, while committing only three unforced errors over the entire match. Swiatek, by contrast, struggled to find rhythm: she won just 38 % of points on her first serve and a mere 20 % on her second. In the second set, Paolini pushed ahead 3-1 and never looked back, firmly closing out the match with confidence.
The victory not only propelled Paolini into the semifinals, where she would face Coco Gauff, but also revived her prospects in the race toward qualifying for the WTA Finals.
“Finally I won a match,” Paolini said in her on-court interview. “I’m super happy about my level. Just feels amazing.”
Jasmine Paolini is the second Italian to reach 5+ WTA-1000 quarter-finals in a single season (Miami, Roma, Cincinnati and Beijing so far) after Sara Errani in 2013 (six).
Paolini, ranked No 8, will play American Coco Gauff, the No 3 seed, next.
In the previous rounds of the Wuhan tournament, the Italian benefited from the abandonment of Dane Clara Tauson, the No 10 seed (3-6, 6-1, 3-1) and won against Chinese wildcard Yue Yuan (3-6, 6-4, 6-3).
Swiatek, ranked No 2, beat Swiss Belinda Bencic, the No 13 seed (7-6 (2), 6-4) and Czech Marie Bouzkova (6-1, 6-1) earlier in the tournament.
Wuhan WTA 1000, other last eight results (Optics Valley International Tennis Center, hard, USD 3.654.963, most recent results first):
- Coco Gauff beat Laura Siegemund: 6-3, 6-0
- Aryna Sabalenka (1) beat Elena Rybakina (8): 6-3, 6-3
- Jessica Pegula (6) beat Katerina Siniakova (Q): 2-6, 6-0, 6-3
