Jasmine Paolini, another step closer to WTA Finals

Steps off on the right foot Jasmine Paolini at the “2025 Aux-Ningbo Open,” a WTA 500 tournament with a prize pool of $1,064,510 underway on the concrete courts of Ningbo, in China’s Zhejiang province.

The 29-year-old from Bagni di Lucca, No. 8 in the world rankings and second seed, fresh from the semifinals in Wuhan and getting closer and closer to qualifying for the WTA Finals in Riyadh, made her debut directly in the second round by overcoming Russian Veronika Kudermetova (No. 31 WTA) with a score of 6-2 7-5 in an hour and a half of play.

Friday, in the quarterfinals, Paolini will find on her way Swiss Belinda Bencic, world No. 14 and the sixth seed, coming off a marathon 3-hour, 33-minute match against Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva. The Swiss has won both previous meetings with the Italian, dated 2018 (Las Vegas) and 2022 (Billie Jean King Cup Finals).

For Paolini, the one in Ningbo is another stage of an extraordinary season: 42 wins and 17 losses, three titles in her trophy cabinet (including two “1000”, in Rome and Cincinnati), a final in Miami and a semifinal in Wuhan. At the Slams, however, the best result remains the eighth final at Roland Garros, lost to Svitolina after having three match-points. A path that confirms the consistency and growth of one of the absolute stars of world tennis.