Jasmine Paolini had to really dig in against home favourites China to begin Italy’s Billie Jean King (BJK) Cup.
Paolini is the number one player for Italy, who won the BJK Cup for the fifth time in their history last year.
After a breakout season in 2024, Paolini has won the Italian Open and reached the final of the Cincinnati Open to maintain her place in the world’s top 10.
However, another test was thrown in the way of the world number eight, as Paolini took on the home crowd in Italy’s opener at the BJK Cup Finals.
Jasmine Paolini claims that the Chinese crowd were ‘very respectful’ to her
Shenzhen has been announced to host the BJK Cup Finals for the next three years, with China subsequently receiving a wildcard.
Italy were drawn to play the hosts in the quarterfinal tie, with it still an intriguing contest despite Chinese number one Qinwen Zheng’s withdrawal due to an ongoing injury.
Instead Paolini was playing Chinese number two Xinyu Wang, knowing that victory would send Italy into the semifinals after her compatriot Elisabetta Cocciaretto won the first match.
Despite being a set and a break down, as well as a break down in the deciding set, Paolini showed great fight to come back and beat Wang, 4-6 7-6(4) 6-4.
The crowd inside the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center were majorly in favour of China, as expected, but Paolini does not think they crossed the line.
“Yes, it’s tough, but the same time it’s nice to play in front of many people,” Paolini said in her post-match press conference. “Of course, they were cheering for China. I think they were very respectful for us, as well. It was good to have this atmosphere I think in this kind of competition.”
Paolini went on to reveal that after the match some Chinese fans were actually being very supportive, and she hoped to have them on side for their next match.
“Yes, after the match actually I felt the love from them,” added Paolini. “But yeah, I asked them to come for the next round and hopefully we can hear some ‘Jaiou [Let’s go in Mandarin], Italy’ (laughter). That’s the goal for the next round. Hopefully the Chinese crowd, it’s going to cheer for us.
“I’m sorry for them, today we beat China. But I think we feel really, really good in China. Hopefully we are going to hear ‘Jaiou, Italy’.”
Jasmine Paolini reveals what inspired her to come back and win BJK Cup tie
Comeback victories were the theme of the opening day of the BJK Cup Finals, as Paolini’s teammate had to pull off an even more dramatic fightback than her.
The aforementioned Cocciaretto was a set and 5-2 down against Yue Yuan, who was unable to serve for the match and lost five consecutive games in a row to force a decider.
Yuan then found herself 5-2 up again in the third set, but once again Cocciaretto won the five consecutive games to win the match from the jaws of defeat.
This is something that Paolini revealed she took a lot of inspiration from during the tricky moments of her own match where she was losing.
“A lot,” Paolini responded when asked if she was inspired by Cocciaretto. “Honestly, when I was 6-4 up, 5-3, I thought about the match of Elisabetta. I tried to stay there.
“In tennis you never know what can happen. This time was good for us, both matches. I think we stay there until the last point. Maybe a little bit of luck, as well. We turn around the match. But was a crazy day (smiling).”
Italy now progress to the BJK Cup semifinals, where they will play the winner of the upcoming tie between Spain and Ukraine on Friday, September 19.
The defending champions are looking to become the first nation to win the BJK Cup two years in a row since Czechia won three consecutive titles between 2014 and 2016.
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