Jasmine Paolini is unlike any other player on the WTA Tour, says top tennis coach

Rea highlighted how Paolini stands out from her peers, even without having a major breakthrough in 2025.

“She is a player who’s smaller in stature. She doesn’t have the overpowering first serve, but what she does have is great variety, she keeps her opponent off balance, she knows she is not going to blast the ball by you, but she flips the script on its head,” he said.

“When it is your turn to serve at her, she keeps you off balance. Typically, players have a return profile; we know what to expect. Against her, you don’t!

“She can do it all, she can be on top of the baseline on first serve return, she can be three metres behind the baseline, which gives her the ability to flex.

“If she’s up against a [Aryna] Sabalenka, she can go back, buy herself some time. She prides herself on making returns into play; she’s not going to allow the opponent cheap returns. One stat Rea pointed out highlights just how effective Paolini can be when returning serve.

“She wins 50% of her first serve return points; the average of the top 100, even the top ten is 40%, so when you think about putting a 10% gap on the field that’s really significant,” said Rea.

The way Paolini uses spin also gives opponents something different to deal with compared to most of their regular matches.

Jasmine Paolini set to face familiar opponent in Beijing opener

Paolini is set to open her China Open campaign against Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova. The two players have faced each other three times before, with Paolini coming out on top in every meeting so far.

They haven’t met since 2021 when Paolini won a tight match at the Indian Wells Masters. Two of their three encounters have gone the distance, including a three-set battle at the 2020 Qatar Open.

The winner will move on to face either Katerina Siniakova or Nao Hibino in the third round.