Remember what happened in the R16 of the 2025 Bad Homburg Open? Although Italy’s Jasmine Paolini managed to secure a hard-fought victory against the Canadian star, Leylah Fernandez, what really caught attention was her argument with the chair umpire. The score was 4-4 in the first set, and one of Fernandez’s shots was called out, but the line judge was wrong, so the umpire overturned the call and gave the Canadian the point. However, Paolini argued that the scream from the line judge disturbed her in the middle of her swing, and called for the match referee to intervene and make a decision on whether the point should be replayed. However, even though the referee did come, she stuck with the chair umpire’s call, and the match resumed from where it had paused, much to the Italian’s frustration. “It’s a very big mistake,” she told the referee. Interestingly, a similar controversial incident also took place in her Cincinnati Open final against Iga Swiatek.

The 29-year-old Italian is putting up a strong show against the former world No. 1, Iga Swiatek, in the Cincy final. Although she is yet to open her account against the Pole (0-5), the Italian assured her fans before the match that she’d give it her all against Swiatek. “It’s been really tough against her (Swiatek). She’s an amazing player. She defends really well. Serving good. I’m trying to do my best. We are in the final. I like the conditions. Let’s fight,” she had said. 

Paolini got off to a strong start in this epic duel, taking away the first three games of the first set. However, in the fourth game, there was a moment when Jasmine Paolini seemed shocked when a return by Swiatek that she thought had gone wide was counted as a point in the Pole’s favor. Visibly frustrated, she tried pointing out the mark where she thought the ball had dropped to the chair umpire, but refrained from an all-out protest this time, as the replay eventually showed that the ball was in.

Perhaps that disruption in the Italian’s focus is all that Swiatek needed as, despite having a poor start in the match, Iga Swiatek is now slowly getting back into the contest as she has now taken a 6-5 lead in the first set. Fasten your seatbelts for a nail-biting ending in this epic battle!

But it’s still too early to count Paolini out. Her resilience is often highlighted in her mental fortitude and ability to overcome challenges, both on and off the court. Her journey from a relatively obscure player to a back-to-back Grand Slam finalist showcases her persistence and belief in herself. She showcased a fair bit of resilience in her SF match against Veronika Kudermetova. Paolini took three sets to seal the deal in that match! Are we heading to yet another three-setter? Well, let’s see, but what did her opponent say before this epic finale?

Iga Swiatek shares her thoughts about her opponent, Jasmine Paolini

Iga Swiatek faced a lot of criticism due to her poor form before the grass court swing this year. However, her title triumph at Wimbledon has managed to silence all those voices. Although the world number 3 failed to find success at the Canadian Open, she has been quite impressive at the Cincinnati Open. Even against the likes of Anna Kalinskaya and Elena Rybakina, she didn’t drop a single set.

However, before entering this match against Jasmine Paolini, the Pole looked well aware of the challenge that she’s going to face in the final. “Jasmine she also plays fast, but with a lot of spin, and she has a lot of variety in terms of going to the net as well. I think I’m gonna have to prepare tactically, but honestly, I’m just gonna kind of focus on myself.”

Seeing her getting back into the match against Jasmine Paolini makes the fans wonder if she’s now heading towards the 24th title in her career, and another big check. After all, the champion of this event will take home 1,000 points and $752,275, while the runners-up will earn 650 points and $391,600 as prize money. Can the Pole beat Jasmine Paolini?