Jasmine Paolini and Karen Khachanov emerged victorious in the tennis circuits last week, triumphing in Dubai and Doha, respectively.
Paolini claimed her inaugural WTA 1000 title at the Dubai Tennis Championships as an unseeded player. The Italian defeated 11th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, Leylah Fernandez, and eighth seed Maria Sakkari to advance to the quarterfinals, where her opponent was Elena Rybakina.
Rybakina’s withdrawal due to illness granted Paolini a spot in the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event for the first time in her career. There, she overcame Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 7-6(6) to secure her place in the final.
Paolini faced Anna Kalinskaya in the championship match, overcoming her opponent in a thrilling encounter, winning 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. This victory marked the most significant title of Paolini’s tennis journey, propelling her to 14th place in the WTA rankings.
Meanwhile, Karen Khachanov, seeded second at the Qatar Open in Doha, received a bye to the second round. He defeated Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 7-5 to progress to the quarterfinals, where his opponent Emil Ruusuvuori retired early in the opening set.
Khachanov faced Alexei Popyrin in the semifinals, winning a closely contested opening set 7-6(12) before dominating the second set 6-2.
This victory secured his first final appearance of 2024. In the final, Khachanov went up against Jakub Mensik, winning a tense tiebreaker in the opening set 7-6(12) and securing the second set 6-4 to clinch the title.
Notably, Khachanov claimed his sixth career title without dropping a single set throughout the tournament, elevating him three places to 14th in the ATP rankings.
