Paolini storms to victory over Gauff to win Italian Open and make history

Jasmine Paolini made history by becoming the first Italian to win the Italian Open in 40 years by defeating Coco Gauff in a dominant performance. The 29-year-old, who had a successful season last year reaching the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon, pleased the crowd at the Foro Italico with a 6-4 6-2 victory. The last time an Italian won one of the singles titles in Rome was back in 1985 by Raffaella Reggi. Paolini’s win was well-deserved, and there is a possibility of another home victory as Jannik Sinner will compete for the men’s singles title on Sunday.

Expressing her disbelief, Paolini mentioned, “It doesn’t feel real to me. Winning this tournament wasn’t even in my dreams.” The crowd enthusiastically cheered for her during the trophy ceremony, which Paolini acknowledged by making a heart shape with her hands. Paolini, along with partner Sara Errani, will also compete in the women’s doubles final against Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens on Sunday. She expressed her excitement by saying, “It’s been two incredible weeks and it’s not over yet.”

During the match, Paolini played aggressively and managed to win a tight first set before dominating the second set, benefitting from Gauff’s errors. With this victory, Paolini is set to surpass Iga Swiatek in rankings and secure the world No. 4 spot on Monday, ensuring a top-four seeding at the upcoming French Open. Gauff, on the other hand, has shown improvement on European clay courts but finished as the runner-up in both recent major events.

In another tennis event, Katie Boulter reached her first clay-court final at the Trophee Clarins in Paris. The British No. 1, competing at the WTA 125 level, defeated Varvara Gracheva to set up a final match against another local player, Chloe Paquet.