Jasmine Paolini to scream, semifinal with world number one

She had to wait for the rain to stop, but when she entered the field she did so with extreme determination. And in the end she lit up the Grandstand with her smile. With a flawless performance Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian player able to reach the semifinals of the “Miami Open,” the fourth WTA 1000 of the season (combined with the second ATP Masters 1000 in 2025) with a prize money of $8,963,700 that is being played on the concrete courts of the Hard Rock Stadium facility (the “home” of the Miami Dolphins of NFL football), in Florida (live on SuperTennis and SuperTenniX).

The 29-year-old from Bagni di Lucca, No. 7 in the rankings and No. 6 in the seedings, dismissed Poland’s Magda Linette, No. 34 WTA, 6-3 6-2, in just over an hour and a quarter of play.

In the round of 16, she had surprisingly eliminated the U.S. Coco Gauff, No. 3 in the rankings and seedings, and had not lost a set in the entire tournament. The Tuscan tennis player will be the first Italian player in history to play a semifinal in Florida: before her, Reggi (1989), Farina Elia (1998), Garbin (2007), Errani (2013), Vinci (2013) and Trevisan (2023) had all stopped in the quarters.

“It was difficult, we had to wait so many hours in the locker room before we could take the court – the words of the Italian -. The wait was long. However, I am very happy with this victory: the last time I had faced her, in Beijing, I had lost badly to her. She plays very well and pushes a lot: I am very satisfied with how I handled the match. During the wait, I confronted my team, had something to eat, joked a little with them: in short, I tried to dilute the tension. What should the American fans say in the semifinals to cheer me on? Go Jasmine!”