Paolini survives tough opening test at French Open

PARIS: Jasmine Paolini, last year’s French Open runner-up, was made to work hard in her 2025 campaign opener, edging past China’s Yuan Yue 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in a tense first-round battle on Sunday.

The Italian fourth seed looked unstoppable early on, breezing through the opening set in just 25 minutes with aggressive baseline play and deep groundstrokes that overwhelmed Yuan, who committed 14 unforced errors in the first set alone.

However, Yuan found her rhythm in the second set, breaking Paolini’s momentum and pushing the match to a deciding third. The final set was a gritty affair, but the recently crowned Italian Open champion held her nerve, showing resilience and experience to seal the win and book her place in the second round.

Paolini’s victory extends her impressive clay-court form and keeps her hopes alive for a deep run at Roland Garros.