Paolini rekindles love for Chatrier

Italian makes triumphant return to stage of first Slam final

Jasmine Paolini Deuxième tour Roland-Garros 2025©Corinne Dubreuil / FFT
 - Dan Imhoff

Jasmine Paolini (4) bt Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-3.

Jasmine Paolini prefers not to be tethered to last year’s standout runs on Roland-Garros’ terre battue, but there is much to be said for returning to compete at the site of such fruitful campaigns.

Almost a year since she reached her maiden Grand Slam final in Paris and nine months since she stood atop the Olympic podium alongside Sara Errani, the Italian was back on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Wednesday where she swept past Ajla Tomljanovic for a third-round berth.

Story of the match

The first Italian woman to win singles and doubles in Rome since Raffaella Reggi in 1985 and the first woman to scoop the two there since Monica Seles in 1990, Paolini timed her run to perfection leading in.

She had her hands full subduing China’s Yuan Yue at the first hurdle in Paris, but on her first match back at Chatrier since that gilded run last August, she looked completely at ease from the outset under the closed roof.

Tomljanovic has the artillery to trouble anyone on her day and is undaunted on big stages.

She famously handled a rabid New York crowd to end Serena Williams’ career at Arthur Ashe Stadium in 2022.

Jasmine Paolini / Deuxième tour Roland-Garros 2025©Corinne Dubreuil / FFT

Her achilles heel though has long been tough luck on the injury front and the consequential struggles with momentum – only last week she withdrew from Rabat against compatriot Maya Joint a set into their semi-final.

It didn’t damage her Roland-Garros start, however. She avenged that loss in the first round before her first showdown with Paolini.

Tomljanovic was on a seven-match losing streak against top 10 opponents since she denied Paula Badosa at Cincinnati in 2022 and there was trouble early when she was broken for 3-1.

A cat-and-mouse exchange of slices worked in the Australian’s favour as a change-up, but the fourth seed withstood the challenge on serve with an ace and soon had coach Marc Lopez and doubles partner Sara Errani nodding their approval when she ripped a backhand pass for the opening set in 36 minutes.

Her confidence only surged in the second with a double break in hand.

Tomljanovic, whose best result in Paris is a fourth-round finish on debut 11 years ago, was staring down the barrel and while she threatened to level at 3-4, it was the world No.79’s last hurrah.

Key stats

As the equal-highest ranked Italian alongside former Roland-Garros champion Francesca Schiavone, Paolini notched a small piece of history as the woman from her nation with the most consecutive third-round appearances at a major in the Open Era – six from Australian Open 2024 to Roland-Garros 2025.

It tied Roberta Vinci’s streak from Wimbledon 2012 to US Open 2013.

Paolini’s eighth straight win – the longest streak of her career – was delivered on the back of 24 winners to her opponent’s 11, 15 of which came off her forehand. Both committed 29 unforced errors.

Paolini’s assessment

Against the all-court aggression of Tomljanovic, Paolini knew she needed to tread a fine line between defence and dictating on her terms.

“Ajla plays very well and it's tough to play against her,” she said. “She can hit really good shots and I was trying to play deep in the court, trying to move well. When I had the chance to be aggressive as well (I was). A little bit of up and down, but I'm happy I won the match.

Paolini stopped short of admitting she felt a sense of security when she walked back into the stadium, but it marked a welcome return all the same.

“More secure? Never,” she laughed. “It's a different feeling again because last year I played a few matches here and then again in the Olympics so I'm a little bit more used to this court. Before I never played here. I like this court, I have great memories here.”