"Someone who brings me calmness, as I am totally the opposite, I'm never calm (laughs)": Jasmine Paolini shares qualities she is looking for in her next coach

Italy’s Jasmine Paolini has revealed what she is looking for in a new coach. The 29-year-old is going through a mixed season, which forced her to make some changes in the coaching staff. Earlier, Paolini ended her partnership with former coach Renzo Furlan in March this year after spending seven years together.

Since then, Paolini has not been able to find a perfect replacement. Paolini is currently taking part in the Cincinnati Open, where she secured a spot in the third round after beating Greece’s Maria Sakkari in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 7-6. Talking after the match, Paolini highlighted what she is looking for in a new coach. Paolini also revealed the reason behind ending the partnership with Furlan.

"Things happen, sometimes you feel it's the right time for a change, to move some pieces around,” said Paolini. “With Renzo (Furlan), I had an extraordinarily long-lasting relationship, seven magnificent years with him, but at that point, I was looking for something different. Now, let's say the same thing has happened again, I've made a change. Currently, the goal is to find the right person, someone who brings me calmness, luckily the Italian Tennis Federation is supporting me a lot with someone I know well from seeing her train there since she was a kid. So far, we have a good rapport, we'll see what the future holds, who my next coach will be. Someone who truly knows tennis well, someone who is very relaxed, who brings me calmness, as I am totally the opposite, I'm never calm (laughs). I simply ask for that, someone who knows the tennis world well and is relaxed."

Even though the match ended in a straight set, it was hard work for Paolini, who had to win both tiebreaks to eventually seal the deal. Talking about her performance in the match, Paolini admitted that she felt ‘sorry’ for Sakkari, who put up a great fight and stated that she felt a lot of ‘relief’ after securing the win. Paolini also stated that during both tiebreaks, her focus was to keep herself motivated enough to fight for every point.

"I feel really sorry for her,” said Paolini. “Nobody wants to finish a match like that, but at that moment, I felt a lot of relief. I was wishing for her to fail on that serve, to gift me a double fault, honestly (laughs). It was a very tough match, and the tiebreaks were tough as well, especially the second one where I had the chance to finish it with a volley at the net but missed. From 6-0, I went to 6-5, so at that point, I was starting to genuinely worry. You try to accept what is happening, but it's clear that when you start losing ground in such a situation, you're not making the right decisions. On the other hand, I have to admit that she also started playing much better from that moment. In my head, I was trying to motivate myself to keep fighting, reminding myself of the things I was doing well and pushing myself to win that last point I needed to seal the victory. But yes, I admit that in that final point, I was hoping she would make a double fault to end it all, that's the reality."

Paolini’s success on Sunday was her 28th win this season in 41 matches across different competitions. She is now set to face Ashlyn Krueger of America in the third round. She defeated Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova with a score of 6-4, 0-6, 6-3 in the round of 64. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two players in professional tennis.