Jasmine Paoloni of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, Italy has won the 2024 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship. On Saturday, Paolini defeated Russian Anna Kalinskaya 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in a surprise battle of unseeded finalists.
Consistency of the serve was a factor in the match. Kalinskaya had four double faults, while Paolini only had one double fault. Kalinskaya was also broken seven times in nine break point opportunities for Paolini.
This was Paolini’s second career WTA title. She previously won the 2021 Slovenia Open, where she beat Alison Riske of the United States in the final, 7-6, 6-2.
Paolini’s first round win in Dubai came over 2023 French Open semifinalist and number 11 seed, Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0. Paolini then beat Leylah Annie Fernandez of Canada, the 2021 United States Open finalist, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round, and two-time grand slam semifinalist (2021 French Open and United States Open) and the eighth seed Maria Sakkari of Greece in the third round, 6-4, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, Paolini was the beneficiary of an Elena Rybakina withdrawal. Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, withdrew because of a gastrointestinal illness according to Agence France Presse. Then in the semifinals, Paolini beat Sorana Cirstea of Romania, 6-2, 7-6.
Kalinskaya was also a gigantic story this week. That is because she beat three grand slam champions in reaching the final. In the third round, Kalinskaya beat the ninth seed, and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-4, 7-5. In the quarterfinals, Kalinskaya beat the third seed and 2023 United States Open champion Coco Gauff of the United States, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Then in the semifinals, Kalinskaya beat four-time grand slam champion and world number one Iga Swiatek of Poland 6-4, 6-4. Swiatek won the 2020, 2022 and 2023 French Open, and 2022 United States Open.
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