Master 1000 Miami: Paolini-Sabalenka, they play for a spot in the final
Jasmine Paolini wrote a historic page in Italian tennis, reaching the semifinals of the Miami Open 2025, a milestone never before achieved by an Italian tennis player in a WTA 1000 tournament on cement. L’azzurra defeated Poland’s Magda Linette by a clear 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, after overcoming very tough challenges in the earlier stages. These included a surprising victory against No. 3 seed Coco Gauff, a success that had already made noise and raised hopes for a great performance by the Tuscan tennis player.
In the match against Linette, Paolini showed great solidity and determination, despite the fact that in the second set she faced at least one break ball for every service round, except saving all but the last. With her usual grit, the Italian closed the match at the first useful opportunity, sealing the result and thus earning her access to the semifinals, where she will face one of the strongest players on the circuit: world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Paolini’s path in this Miami Open has been impressive, with a two-set victory over Rebecca Sramkova, a withdrawal of Tunisian Ons Jabeur in the third round, and a hard-fought success against Naomi Osaka in the fourth round. Now, after an uneventful journey, the Italian is preparing for her match against the Belarusian, who has dominated her opponents without conceding sets so far, beating such high-caliber players as Zheng Qinwen in the quarters.
For Paolini, the semifinal at the Miami Open represents the second time in her career that she has reached this stage in a WTA 1000 tournament, following her finish in Dubai in 2024. Her position in the WTA rankings is set to rise further, with confirmation of sixth place at the end of the tournament. Despite Sabalenka’s favorable record (three wins out of four), the Italian hopes to overturn the statistic and pull off a major feat.
The match between Paolini and Sabalenka will be played on Thursday, March 27, at 6 p.m. at the earliest. It will be a crucial match, which will see the young Italian tennis player attempt to continue her extraordinary adventure in one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world.
