No. 6 seed Jasmine Paolini broke new ground for her country on Tuesday, becoming the first Italian woman to reach the Miami Open semifinals with a 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal victory over 34th-ranked Magda Linette of Poland.

Miami: Draws | Scores | Order of play 

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 representing Italy.

Paolini, who reached two Grand Slam finals last year, became the first to break that duck with her 77-minute victory over Coco Gauff’s conqueror Linette.

The match was postponed for hours due to rain delays, but that did not hinder Paolini when the players hit the court. The Italian was steely all day, erasing seven of the eight break points she faced.

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.

But Paolini is turning the tide in her favor in Florida, 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.

World No. 7 Paolini is guaranteed to face a fellow Top 10 player in the semifinals: either No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka or No. 9 seed Zheng Qinwen, who play later tonight. Paolini has a 2-3 record vs. Sabalenka, and she is a winless 0-4 vs. Zheng.

More to come…