Jasmine Paolini defeats Mirra Andreeva to reach first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros

Jasmine Paolini has kept her dream run going at Roland Garros, defeating Mirra Andreeva in the semifinals on Thursday, 6-3, 6-1, to reach the first Grand Slam final of her career.

She had never even been to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam before this, her best result being a fourth-round showing at the last Grand Slam—the Australian Open earlier this year.

Paolini is the first Italian woman to reach a major final since the 2015 US Open, when Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci both did it, and the first at Roland Garros since 2012, when Sara Errani did it.

Francesca Schiavone was the first Italian woman to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open Era, and the only one to do it twice.

ITALIAN WOMEN TO REACH GRAND SLAM FINALS (Open Era):

• Francesca Schiavone (2): 2010 Roland Garros [won title], 2011 Roland Garros [runner-up]
• Sara Errani (1): 2012 Roland Garros [runner-up]
• Flavia Pennetta (1): 2015 US Open [won title]
• Roberta Vinci (1): 2015 US Open [runner-up]
• Jasmine Paolini (1): 2024 Roland Garros [TBD]

Paolini came out swinging from the start on Thursday, but Andreeva was right there with her throughout the first set.

After grabbing the first break of the match for a 3-1 lead, Paolini had to fight off three break points to hold for 4-1. And then, after Andreeva held in the next game, Paolini had to save another two break points to hold for 5-2. Andreeva held again before Paolini ultimately served out the 45-minute first set, 6-3.

Andreeva held one more time in the first game of the second set, but that’s when the floodgates opened, as Paolini reeled off six games in a row—only one of them even going to deuce—to close out a 28-minute second set and reach her first Grand Slam final.

She broke at love in the final game, finishing it off after a 10-shot rally with one last forehand winner into the open court.

Paolini finished the match with 14 winners to 10 unforced errors, while Andreeva had 11 winners to 29 unforced errors on the day.

The Italian saved all six break points she faced in the match.

Just by reaching the semifinals, Paolini—who’s currently ranked No. 15—was already guaranteed to break into the Top 10 when the new WTA rankings come out after the tournament.

By reaching the final, she’s projected to rise to No. 7.

Awaiting her in that final will be the world No. 1, Iga Swiatek, who defeated world No. 3 Coco Gauff in the first semifinal, 6-2 6-4, to extend her Roland Garros winning streak to 20 in a row.

Swiatek has beaten Paolini in both of their previous meetings, the first one on clay at an ITF event in Prague in 2018, 6-2 6-1, then on hard courts in the first round of the US Open in 2022, 6-3 6-0.