"Iga Swiatek wishes me good luck when we meet... I try to speak Polish but it's not easy" - Jasmine Paolini opens up on her relationship with Pole
Jasmine Paolini opened up on her relationship with World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. The pair will contest for the French Open women's singles title on Saturday, June 8.
Paolini produced some impressive performances during the Paris Major, which included her win over World No. 4 Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals. These helped her set up a clash against 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the semis. Andreeva herself went into the semifinal clash against Paolini on a high, having ousted World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarters.
However, Andreeva was no match for Paolini, who exacted revenge on the Russian for her fourth-round loss at the Madrid Open in late April. At a press conference following her 6-3, 6-1 win over Andreeva, Paolini was asked about her relationship with Iga Swiatek, as well as her proficiency in speaking Polish.
The Italian said that while she tried to speak in Polish, she was not very confident at it. Paolini also laid bare that there's a lot of respect between her and Swiatek, and that they congratulate each other for their respective successes on the WTA Tour.
"I try to speak in Polish but it's not easy. I'm a little bit shy, you know? Because I'm not feeling really confident in it. But of course, when I see her (Swiatek), I say congratulations for the titles she has won. So, the same she does," Paolini said. (7:10)
The 28-year-old went on to say that Iga Swiatek had congratulated her for her title triumph at the Dubai Tennis Championships earlier this year, where she won against Anna Kalinskaya in the final. Paolini also mentioned that the pair tend to strike up conversations whenever they meet each other in the players locker room.
"She (Swiatek) congratulated me for Dubai. She wishes me good luck after matches when we meet in the locker room. So, yeah, I try to speak Polish but you know, it's not easy for me, but yeah, we have our relationship," Paolini added.
Jasmine Paolini has lost both matches she has played so far on the WTA Tour against Iga Swiatek
Jasmine Paolini will have to put in a lot of work to have any chance of getting past Iga Swiatek in the French Open women's singles final. The Pole is on an 18-match unbeaten streak, with her last defeat coming in the semifinals of the Stuttgart Open against Rybakina. At the French Open, Swiatek is undefeated in a staggering 20 matches that have spanned her 2022, 2023, and ongoing 2024 campaigns.
The Italian has clashed against the World No. 1 once previously on the WTA Tour, with the latter winning 6-3, 6-0 in the first round of the 2022 US Open. Before that, they also locked horns in the second round of an ITF event in Prague back in 2018, and Swiatek won 6-1, 6-2.