Jasmine Paolini outlasts Bencic in Ningbo epic to edge closer to WTA Finals spot
I don’t know if Jasmine Paolini has ice water in her veins or just a bottomless tank of determination. Either way, she needed every ounce of it to survive Belinda Bencic in a three-hour, 22-minute rollercoaster in Ningbo, finally prevailing 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the AUX Ningbo Open.
The win wasn’t just about a spot in the final four. It keeps Paolini’s WTA Finals dream alive — dangling just within reach — and sets up a mouthwatering clash with Elena Rybakina that could decide everything.
Beat Rybakina, and the Italian books her ticket to Riyadh.
Lose, and the race stays wide open heading into next week’s Toray Pan Pacific Open.
But first, let’s talk about that match because this was not your garden-variety quarterfinal. It was a tug-of-war that tested both body and mind, the kind of match that leaves players gasping for air and fans on the edge of their seats.
From the outset, Bencic looked sharper, her forehand firing like a rifle shot down the lines. She struck 15 winners to Paolini’s seven in the opening set, flipping an early 0-2 deficit into a 7-5 steal.
When the Swiss star broke again early in the second, you could sense momentum shifting hard against Paolini. At one point, Bencic even served for the match at 5-4.
That’s when the Italian’s stubborn streak kicked in. “One of the toughest matches I ever played, honestly,” she admitted afterward, still visibly drained but smiling. “Belinda deserved to win as well — it was really tough. I just tried to stay there every point and turn the match somehow.”
The turning point came in the form of two absolute marathon games that could’ve swung either way.
Down a break in the second, Paolini clawed through eight deuces and five break points before finally breaking back. Then, with Bencic serving for the match, Paolini produced one of the shots of the tournament — a flicked crosscourt backhand from outside the tramlines to break at love.
She wasn’t done yet. In another seven-deuce slog that followed, Paolini fended off six more break points with a mix of guts and guile and three clutch unreturned serves.
From there, the Italian was a runaway train, winning nine of the last twelve games to seal the comeback as Bencic, clearly battling fatigue after a 3-hour, 33-minute thriller the previous round, began to fade.
It was Paolini’s longest match of the season, eclipsing even her Beijing quarterfinal against Amanda Anisimova. In fact, it was her first match over the three-hour mark in more than three years.
“If I want to qualify [for Riyadh], I have to play good matches,” she said. “It’s not easy, but I just try to focus on my tennis and see what happens.”
That focus is serving her well. Paolini’s season has been one of quiet, steady ascent. A kind of renaissance for a player who’s always had grit but is now finding steel.
Her 2024 has been marked by breakout moments. A Roland Garros semifinal, titles on both clay and hard court, and the sense that she’s finally arrived among the elite.
But the task ahead couldn’t be tougher. Waiting for her in the semifinal is Rybakina, who made short work of Ajla Tomljanovic with a ruthless 6-2, 6-0 win earlier in the day. The Kazakh powerhouse, too, has her eyes on Riyadh, though her path is slightly more complicated.
“I know for this I still need to win a lot of matches,” Rybakina said after her win. “I just want to finish the season as best as possible, and most important, to stay healthy. It’s been a long year, not my best, but still pretty decent.”
If Paolini wins, she seals her first-ever WTA Finals berth outright and likely eliminates Bencic from alternate contention. If Rybakina triumphs, the race for the final two spots stays alive, with both still mathematically in play alongside Mirra Andreeva.
