Diminutive Italian Jasmine Paolini is starting to find her groove. The aggressive Italian enjoyed a breakout season last year, reaching the finals at the French Open and Wimbledon Championships.
2025 WTA Tour
WTA 1000
Mutua Madrid Open
La Caja Magica, Madrid, Spain (Outdoor Clay)
Selected Round of 64 Matches- 25th April
Jasmine Paolini (6) 0.24 vs Katie Boulter 2.95
She started this season in subdued fashion, failing to reach a quarterfinal in her first four events. But she rediscovered some magic in Miami, reaching the semifinals before falling to World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka. She then got her clay-court campaign off to an excellent start, beating Coco Gauff en route to a semifinal finish in Stuttgart. Paolini is tailor-made for clay. She is one of the best movers on tour and possesses a forehand that defies her small stature. She utilizes plenty of topspin on that forehand wing, keeping her opponents pegged back in baseline exchanges.
Katie Boulter enjoyed a solid 2024 campaign, reaching three finals and reaching a career-high singles ranking of 23. The Brit has struggled this season and needs to pick up wins if she hopes to retain the British No.1 ranking (Radacanu has been resurgent of late). She missed the whole of February due to a foot injury and has struggled for any momentum since then. She did create a bit of personal history in her Madrid opener, incredibly recording her maiden WTA Tour clay-court win with her three sets win over Katerina Siniakova. Boulter- with her strong serve and flat forehands- thrives on faster surfaces and neglected to play on clay till last year (which I find borderline negligent).
The Verdict: Paolini to win in straight sets at 0.63- Paolini and Boulter share the head-to-head spoils at two wins apiece. Having said that, this will be their first clay-court meeting. Paolini should trounce Boulter. She fits these surfaces like a glove. Her movement and use of topspin should be too much for the Brit to handle.
