World No. 1 Sabalenka booked a spot in her first career Miami Open semifinal with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over No. 9 seed Zheng Qinwen. In a rematch of the 2024 Australian Open final, Sabalenka triumphed in 1 hour and 36 minutes.
No. 6 seed Paolini will be Sabalenka’s semifinal opponent on Thursday, thanks to her 6-3, 6-2 win over Magda Linette earlier in the day. Her match was delayed for roughly three hours due to the inclement weather.
Paolini broke new ground for her country on Tuesday. With her victory over 34th-ranked Linette of Poland, she became the first Italian woman to reach the Miami Open semifinals.
Italian women have put together a sterling dynasty on the Hologic WTA Tour, but before this year, they had surprisingly gone 0-for-6 in Miami Open quarterfinals. That list includes Grand Slam finalists Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, with Martina Trevisan in 2023 being the most recent beaten Miami quarterfinalist from Italy.
Before Miami, Paolini had not reached any quarterfinals in 2025, and she was bested in the Round of 16 at all three of this year’s previous WTA 1000 events: Doha, Dubai and Indian Wells.
“I think I didn’t play bad this season, but I didn’t have a great result,” Paolini said after Tuesday’s win. “But I was there. I lost many matches, but to big opponents.
“[It] was tough, but at the same time I was repeating to myself that, you know, I’m there. Maybe I need just a little bit more of confidence. It came here, maybe.”
Indeed, Paolini is turning the tide in her favor in Miami, as she eyes her second WTA 1000 title. Paolini’s first WTA 1000 title came last year in Dubai — a result which kickstarted her 2024 breakthrough rise into the year-end Top 5.
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