There will be two debutants in the semi-finals of the 2024 French Open for women. Seventeen-year-old Mirra Andreeva from Russia will play 28-year-old Italian Jasmine Paolini in the semi-finals on Thursday. Neither has played in a Grand Slam semi-final before.
Both Paolini and Andreeva defeated strong, established competitors to earn places in their first Grand Slam semi-finals. Paolini took on world number 4 Elena Rybakina and came out swinging her racket with immense confidence. Because Paolini was only 6 feet tall, it felt like the match would favor the tall, lithe Rybakina, but Paolini played with a graceful energy that more than compensated for her shorter limbs. Rybakina, on the other hand, was wild, making 48 unforced errors, more than double Paolini’s total of 22. After stumbling in the second set, Paolini won 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
The young Andreeva was playing against world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, and while Sabalenka plays a hard-swinging, fast-paced game, Andreeva was ready. Sabalenka’s ruthlessness can quickly wear down any opponent, but Andreeva would not wither. Not even after losing a first-set tiebreak, which can deflate even the most powerful players. She came back to beat Sabalenka in straight sets, winning 6(5)-7, 6-4, 6-4 and becoming the youngest Grand Slam semi-finalist since 1997.
Although Paolini did not reach her first Grand Slam semi-final until the age of 28, she is far from an unranked upstart. She debuted on the women’s tour in 2015, earned her first WTA win in 2018 and has started to see more consistent results in recent years. She started 2024 by reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, followed by a WTA 1000 victory in Dubai. She started the year ranked No. 30 in the world, but reached No. 15 before the French Open.
Andreeva is only 17, but has been showing enormous talent for years. She turned pro just over a year ago and has already made deep inroads into most majors, reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2023 and the Australian Open in 2024. She defeated one of the fiercest and most fearsome competitors in the entire world. women’s tour in Sabalenka, but will now face a 28-year-old making the deepest Grand Slam run of her decade-long career.
Andreeva will not be afraid when she appears in court on Thursday, but neither will Paolini. There may be eleven years between them, but they will both be in that spot for the first time: competing for a shot at a Grand Slam final.
