Wuhan Open 2025: Paolini Ends Swiatek Hoodoo In Quarters, Books Gauff Showdown

Jasmine Paolini's wait for a victory over Iga Swiatek finally ended on Friday, as the Italian claimed a 6-1 6-2 win to book a Wuhan Open semi-final meeting with Coco Gauff.

Paolini entered Friday's last-eight clash having lost all six of her meetings with the six-time grand slam champion, but she only needed 66 minutes to end that hoodoo. 

Paolini's performance was close to faultless as she only committed three unforced errors throughout the match, despite taking the initiative with an aggressive approach.

The Italian broke to love in the very first game, then made it a double break three games later. Swiatek failed to generate a single break point in the opening set, with Paolini winning 73% of her first-serve points and staying perfect on her second serve, winning four of four points.

Swiatek's first chance to break came in the opening game of the second set, but Paolini fended her off before breaking in the next game.

The two-time major runner-up dropped her level briefly as Swiatek recovered the break in game three, but from then on, the Pole only won one more point against the serve.

Paolini quickly restored her break advantage in game four, then a further break got the job done as she forced Swiatek into a wild groundstroke that flew beyond the right corner.

"Finally, I won a match [against Swiatek]," Paolini said in her post-match interview. "I'm super happy about my level. Just feels amazing."

Paolini, whose 41 WTA Tour-level wins this year are one more than she managed in 2024, will face Gauff for a place in the final following the American's own straight-sets victory.

Gauff cruised to a 6-3 6-0 win over Laura Siegemund, who broke in the opening game and held her own for much of the first set, only to wilt in the second.

Gauff immediately got back on terms after seeing her serve broken, with another break in a three-deuce sixth game enough to hand her the opening set.

And Siegemund was spent in the second set, with the 37-year-old only taking four points on her own serve. 

"It was a pretty straightforward match," Gauff said. "She's a tricky and tough player, but I thought that I did well by being patient and waiting for opportunities."

Data Debrief: Paolini makes a statement

Paolini's first win over Swiatek was worth the wait.

She is only the second player to concede three games or fewer en route to a victory over the Pole at a WTA 1000 event, after Gauff at the Madrid Open earlier this year.

And at the age of 29 years, 276 days, Paolini is the third-oldest player to reach four or more Tier 1/WTA 1000 semi-finals in a single year, younger than only Serena Williams (2013, 2014 and 2015) and Li Na (2012).

She will face a difficult test in the last four, however, with Gauff holding a brilliant record in China. Gauff is the first player to reach five consecutive WTA 1000 quarter-finals in China (Beijing 2023-2025 and Wuhan 2024-2025) since the format's 2009 inception.