Jasmine Paolini secured a hard-fought opening victory at the BNB Ningbo Open, overcoming a five-game deficit in the second set to defeat Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina 6-2, 7-5. The Italian world number 35 needed one hour and 40 minutes on the hard courts of the Yinzhou International  Tennis Centre to dispatch her opponent, who entered the WTA 500 event as a lucky loser.

A Dramatic Turnaround on the Zhejiang Hard Courts

The match appeared to be heading for a deciding set when Paolini fell behind 5-0 in the second frame. The player from Bagni di Lucca mounted an unyielding response, however, sweeping seven consecutive games to close out the contest on the second match point she held on her opponent’s serve, according to match records detailed by Sky  Sport. Paolini struggled with her delivery early on, committing seven double faults and landing 68 percent of her first serves while converting 60 percent of those points, OA Sport noted.

“How did I turn it around? I wouldn’t know. It was very tough, I lost concentration a bit,” Paolini said during her on-court interview. “I tried to play one point at a time, to stay there, to try to fight back. Little by little 5-1, 5-2, 5-3… at that point I started to believe it, up to 5-all. I am happy with how I managed this situation.”

Kalinina entered the main draw as a lucky loser after retiring with a physical issue while trailing 5-3 in the first set of her qualifying match against Belarus’s Sasnovich. The Ukrainian has struggled to find momentum in recent months, winning just one of her seven matches played since August.

Setting Up a Second-Round Clash with Iva Jovic

With the win, Paolini advances to the second round in Ningbo, where she is defending a semifinal appearance from last season. Her next opponent will be fourth-seeded American Iva Jovic, the world number 12. Paolini is in advantage 2-1 in the head-to-head record against the 18-year-old from Torrance, California, who won their most recent encounter at the third round of the Australian Open in January.

While Paolini continues her campaign in Zhejiang, the tournament field has seen high-profile withdrawals. Iga Swiatek pulled out of the event due to a left thigh injury, a setback that severely damages the six-time Grand Slam champion’s hopes of qualifying for the year-end WTA Finals. Swiatek era in lizza con Karolina Muchova e Marta Kostyuk per conquistare l’ultimo posto disponibile nel tabellone a otto giocatrici delle WTA Finals, con il torneo di Indian Wells che prenderà il via l’8 novembre.