Jasmine Paolini stunned Elena Rybakina in a back-and-forth match to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal at the French Open.
Italian 12th seed Paolini won 6-2 4-6 6-4 against Kazakhstani fourth seed on a windy Court Philippe-Chatrier.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” said Paolini, who won at Roland Garros after two hours and three minutes.
She will face Russia’s Mirra Andreeva or Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, after which the pair will play later on Wednesday.
Paolini was competing in her first Grand Slam quarter-final after an impressive season that saw the 28-year-old break into the top 15 for the first time and win her first WTA 1,000 title at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February.
But in former Wimbledon champion Rybakina, 24, she faced world number four and a player, alongside Sabalenka, who was favorite to challenge two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek for the title in Paris.
Paolini started brightly and showed no signs of nerves as she broke Rybakina in the opening match.
While Rybakina struggled for consistency, Paolini took advantage and served to love in her first three matches with a stirring forehand winner down the court.
Paolini broke again before seeing out the set at 6-2, with Rybakina earning just one point on the Italian’s serve.
After dropping a set for the first time in Paris this year, Rybakina had to respond and despite unforced errors punctuating her performance, she began to find more consistency in her strokes.
The pair exchanged several breaks before a key moment came at 5-4 when a Paolini backhand went long, giving Rybakina a set point which she claimed with good work at the net.
In the deciding set, both players were hampered by the wind and struggled for consistency with unforced errors and service breaks.
At 4-4, a wild forehand into the net from Rybakina, which drew a surprised look from her coaching team, gave Paolini a 30-15 lead, which she took advantage of and earned the chance to serve for the match.
A long backhand from Rybakina – her 48th unforced error – then gave Paolini the win for the biggest victory of her career to date.
Who is Jasmijn Paolini?
Paolini was born in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, a town in Tuscany, and made her debut on the WTA tour in 2015.
She has won two singles titles but has had her most productive year yet in 2024, reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time at the Australian Open in January.
Her performance against Rybakina – whom she defeated for the second time in her nine-year career – received the support of the Parisian crowd, who cheered during her tenacious performance.
With Jannik Sinner also reaching the last four, Italians will be in the semi-finals of both men’s and women’s singles at a major for the first time in the Open era.
“It was a very tough match. I was a bit too emotional in the second set,” Paolini said.
“I said to myself, ‘Okay, it’s okay. [Rybakina] is a great champion, so it can happen’. I tried to hit every ball and it worked, I’m here.
“I just tried to stay there every point, to forget what happened in the second set. I managed to come back and I just accept that and fight again. Thank you guys, thank you so much for cheering for me.”
