The Polish connection! Earlier this year, Italy’s Jasmine Paolini announced her arrival on the bigger stages of the game by winning the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships. Iga Swiatek had won the Qatar Open title just before that and as a result, the tennis fans were seen cracking a joke about a Polish sweep in the Middle East. Paolini’s father, Ugo is Italian while her mother, Jacqueline is of Ghanaian and Polish descent. Her maternal grandmother lives in Lodz. So, she couldn’t hold her laughter when a reporter had then congratulated her in Polish.

Jasmine Paolini thanked the reporter with a bright smile and said, “When I was young [my mother] was speaking to me in Polish. Now I can speak Polish, but I also forgot some words.” The 28-year-old tennis star further went on to add, “For example, Magdalena Frech is speaking to me. And I am always like, ‘Please speak slow. Because sometimes I would like to say something in Polish and I say one word in English.’ My brain is mixed a lot.”

Paolini is a big fan of Iga Swiatek and both the players have faced each other on two occasions previously. They met first in Prague in 2018 and after that, they played against each other at the 2022 US Open. Iga Swiatek currently leads the H2H against Jasmine Paolini by 2-0. But do you know Paolini’s hilarious “Who is this player?” moment surrounding the current world number one?

Earlier this year, during a press conference, Jasmine Paolini revealed the funny moment stating, “I remember one time, I think we played in Prague. Something like that and I was like, ‘Who is this player?’ (laughing).” She was amazed by Iga Swiatek’s ability to hit winners everywhere. Paolini has often showcased her admiration for the Polish tennis star. Even Iga Swiatek once sent a congratulatory message to this Italian tennis player in Polish.

Iga Swiatek’s congratulatory message to Jasmine Paolini for her Dubai triumph

The world number one couldn’t win the title in Dubai this year. She was defeated by Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya in the SF by 4-6,4-6. However, the Polish tennis star didn’t fail to congratulate Jasmine Paolini in her ‘own style’ after her emphatic victory in the finals. Swiatek tweeted, “Gratulacje (congratulations) Jasmine! What a week.” Even Paolini has huge admiration for this Polish superstar. Earlier this season, during an interview she heaped praise on the world number one.

“She is a great player, she is doing unbelievable, she is No. 1 for two or three years, already has won four Grand Slams… So, she doesn’t need any presentation,” Jasmine Paolini on Iga Swiatek. Paolini will take on Russia’s Elina Avanesyan in the fourth round of the 2024 French Open. Can Paolini win this match and move closer to a possible face-off with the ‘Queen of Clay’ in the ultimate rounds in Paris?