Jasmine Paolini staged a remarkable comeback from a set down to topple reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff at the 2025 Cincinnati Open. Beaming with joy, the Italian addressed the crowd shortly after her triumph.
The Italian appeared to lose momentum early, as the American capitalized by breaking her three times, winning 82.4 percent of her first-serve points, and firing two aces. But the turning point was on the horizon.
Jasmine Paolini Thanked the Cincinnati Open Crowd After Turning the Tide Against Coco Gauff
The second set began evenly, with both players holding serve, before Gauff’s serving woes resurfaced as her double faults mounted to five in the match. Paolini, meanwhile, seized the momentum, breaking her three times in a row to clinch the set 6-4.
The seventh seed dominated the decider as Gauff’s double fault tally swelled to 16. Paolini secured her sixth break of the match before closing out the set 6-3 to book her place in the semifinals.
While pleased with her performance and the result, Paolini was especially touched by the Cincinnati crowd, who cheered her on alongside home favorite Gauff.
“I tried to fight every point & it worked. I’m really happy. Thank you for cheering for me.. because we are in the States.. Coco is from here. Thank you as well for cheering for me,” she said in her on-court interview.
Jasmine Paolini after beating Coco Gauff to reach 1st Cincinnati SF
“I tried to fight every point & it worked. I’m really happy. Thank you for cheering for me.. because we are in the States.. Coco is from here. Thank you as well for cheering for me.” ❤️
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 16, 2025
Notably, the Cincinnati quarterfinal marked Paolini’s third consecutive win over Gauff, giving her a 3-2 edge in their head-to-head.
Paolini now turns her attention to the semifinal clash with Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova, who eased past France’s Varvara Gracheva 6-1, 6-2 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on Friday. It will be Kudermetova’s third Masters 1000 semifinal appearance, having previously reached the last four in Madrid and Rome in 2023.
Adding to Paolini’s challenge is her 1-3 head-to-head deficit against the Russian. Their most recent meeting also came at the Cincinnati Open, where Kudermetova cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 victory. The winner of their semifinal will advance to face either Elena Rybakina or Iga Świątek in the final.
