Jasmine Paolini is an Italian professional tennis player who was born on January 4, 1996, in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, Italy. Despite not being born into an outright sporting family, this did not stop her from starting the sport young and enjoying a successful youth career.
Turning pro in 2011, the Italian initially struggled to gain traction on tour. After a few seasons, she found her feet at the ITF level, going deep in several tournaments, but a spot amongst the game’s best WTA Tour was still not a reality for Paolini.
Her luck was about to change in 2017, though, when the Italian made her main tour debut at the Guangzhou Open in China, losing in the first round to then-heavyweight and number three seed Anett Kontaveit. Following that loss, she gained access to the qualifying tournaments of more tournaments, but a spot in the main draw still proved hard to achieve for the Italian.
Her luck did turn in the new year, though, with another first-round main draw appearance presenting itself to her at the Bogota Open. After what had proved to be a long wait, this was her first win on the WTA main tour.
Later on that season, she backed up that performance and went further at the Prague Open, reaching the quarterfinals and beating Daria Kasatkina on the way. After spending the next couple of years building on that success and consolidating her spot on tour, it was the Italian’s moment to go even further.
At the 2021 Slovenia Open, she claimed the crown, making it her maiden WTA title. More progress followed, with her recording her career-best Grand Slam performance at the 2024 Australian Open, making the fourth-round.
he backed up this success later on that season, with her winning the WTA 1000 title at the Dubai Championships. A stellar 2024 season meant that she broke into the Top 15 for the first time in her career.
