In Pictures: Jasmine Paolini's mother steals the spotlight with emotional display in Italian's stunning Wimbledon SF comeback win over Donna Vekic
Jasmine Paolini's mother cheered her daughter on with all her heart as the Italian completed a historic comeback at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. The 28-year-old reached consecutive Grand Slam finals after defeating Donna Vekic in the semifinals.
Paolini has been having the best season of her career and has added yet another milestone to it. The Italian won her first WTA 1000 title at the Dubai Tennis Championships this year and followed it up with a run to the final at the French Open. She broke into the Top 10 for the first time in her career owing to these results and her Wimbledon run has guaranteed her an entry into the Top 5.
The seventh seed ousted Sara Sorribes, Greet Minnen, Bianca Andreescu, Madison Keys (retired), and Emma Navarro to reach the semifinals where she was pitted against Donna Vekic. The Croat took the opening set following which Paolini staged an impressive comeback to win 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(8) and reach consecutive finals at Grand Slams.
The match lasted for two hours and 51 minutes, making it the longest ladies' singles semifinal match in Wimbledon history.
Jasmine Paolini's family was in attendance, cheering the Italian on. Her mother Jacqueline, who was in her box, stole the show as her emotional display won the hearts of the tennis fraternity.
"I'm just so grateful to have them here watching" - Jasmine Paolini thanks her family for their love and support
During her on-court interview, Jasmine Paolini was told about her family going through a rollercoaster of emotions during the contest. She admitted that it wasn't easy for her family to watch a match like this as it was high on emotions.
“I think it’s not easy for the family to watch a match like this. It was a rollercoaster of emotions. I’m so grateful they were here. They’ve been supporting me forever. I’m just so grateful to have them here watching,” Paolini said.
Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian woman ever to reach the ladies singles final at Wimbledon. She will play Barbora Krejcikova in the final, who like Paolini also staged a comeback and defeated Elena Rybakina in the semifinal 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Krejcikova leads the Italian 1-0 in their head-to-head, having met in Round 1 of qualifying at the 2018 Australian Open.