When Jasmine Paolini plays in Wuhan: background with Coco Gauff

Tomorrow, no earlier than 11 a.m. Italian time, 5 p.m. local time, Jasmine Paolini will play the semifinals of the WTA 1000 on the Chinese cement in Wuhan against U.S. Coco Gauff, world number 3.

The 29-year-old Tuscan from Bagni di Lucca, ranked No. 8, is one step away from qualifying for the WTA Finals, the tournament that concludes the calendar year of women’s tennis reserved for the world’s top eight and will be played Nov. 3 in Riyadh.

Jasmine is coming off a remarkable 6-1 6-2 victory over Iga Swiatek, while Gauff beat German outsider Laura Siegemund, No. 57, 6-3 6-0. Paolini is aiming for another feat, which, moreover, has already succeeded three times this year.

After losing 6-4 6-7 6-2 in Adelaide in 2021 and in the Cincinnati quarterfinals in 2023 by 6-3 6-2, Jasmine this year has reversed the balance of direct confrontations with Coco.

The Tuscan in fact won 6-4 6-3 in the quarters in Stuttgart, 6-4 6-2 in the final in Rome, 2-6 6-4 6-3 in the quarters in Cincinnati on cement, in theory a surface more favorable to the U.S., while the other two victories she captured on clay.