The history was bleak for Jasmine Paolini.
Coming into this Dongfeng Voyah · Wuhan Open quarterfinal, she had lost all six meetings with Iga Swiatek — and managed to win only a single set.
But on a warm Friday night at the Optics Valley International Tennis Centre, Paolini changed the course of that history, stunning Swiatek 6-1, 6-2. It was over in 65 minutes.
The irrepressible 29-year-old Italian will face No. 3 Coco Gauff in a Saturday semifinal (5 p.m. local time, 5 a.m. ET). Gauff won the first two career meetings against Paolini (2021 Adelaide and 2023 Cincinnati) but lost the most recent three (Stuttgart, Rome and Cincinnati) — all this season.
Paolini also improved her odds of securing the final singles qualifying spot for the PIF WTA Finals in Riyadh over Elena Rybakina, who fell earlier to Aryna Sabalenka, and Mirra Andreeva. With Jessica Pegula’s quarterfinal win, coupled with Rybakina’s loss, Pegula has now officially qualified for Riyadh.
Paolini was aggressive, feeding off the pace of Swiatek’s strokes. Remarkably, despite the attack mode she was in, Paolini was credited with only three unforced errors, against 15 winners.
How dialed in was Paolini? Swiatek faced six break points in the match — and Paolini won them all.
“Finally I won a match,” Paolini said in her on-court interview. “I’m super happy about my level. Just feels amazing.”
Paolini announced her intent early in this one, breaking Swiatek at love with a thundering return winner. It was 4-0 before Swiatek managed to hold serve, but Paolini broke her for the third time to put away the set when Swiatek sent a hurried forehand into the net.
Paolini played a virtually flawless opening 26-minute frame, stroking seven winners and, incredibly, one unforced error.
The second set was much the same. Paolini was up 2-0, but Swiatek scored her first break of the match to get it back on serve. But Paolini broke back — at love — with another fabulous return winner to take an insurmountable 3-1 lead.
Last year, Paolini vaulted into stardom by reaching back-to-back finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. All season long, she’s been asked if she can sustain those breakthroughs.
Here’s your answer: The win over Swiatek was her 41st WTA Tour main-draw win in 2025 — one more than last year. Paolini now has 26 WTA 1000 wins this year, tied for second with Sabalenka behind Swiatek’s 28.
Earlier, Gauff was an efficient 6-3, 6-0 winner over Laura Siegemund.
The 21-year-old American returned exceptionally well, winning 27 of 45 points against Siegemund’s serve and breaking her five times.
“It was a pretty straightforward match,” Gauff said afterward. “She’s a tricky and tough player, but I thought that I did well being patient and waiting for opportunities.”
Gauff, winner of seven of eight matches in Beijing and Wuhan, leads all Hologic WTA Tour players with 15 victories in China over the past two years. She’s the first woman in the 16-year history of WTA 1000s to reach five consecutive semifinals in China.