Jasmine Paolini of Italy showed exceptional mental fortitude and staged an impressive comeback to defeat Russian qualifier Anna Kalinskaya 4-6 7-5 7-5 and win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title.
The world No.26 Paolini battled back from a break down in both the second and third sets of the final to clinch her second career singles title on the Hologic WTA Tour, having also triumphed at WTA 250 Portoroz in 2021. Kalinskaya, ranked 40th in the world, was serving for the match in the third set but did not reach match point, as Paolini impressively won 16 of the last 19 points to claim victory, going from 3-5 to 7-5 in the decider.
The 28-year-old Paolini avenged her recent loss to Kalinskaya from the Australian Open fourth round and ensured a Top 15 debut when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday. This week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, she secured victories over a strong lineup of opponents, including the 11th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, eighth seed Maria Sakkari, fourth seed and Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina (walkover), Sorana Cirstea, and qualifier Kalinskaya, who had upset world No.1 Iga Swiatek in the previous round.
Paolini’s winning apparel is from the new Asics collection: the Asics Spring Match Tank and Asics Spring Match Skirt.
