Jasmine Paolini confirmed as seventh qualifier for WTA Finals in Riyadh after string of positive results

The race to Riyadh is coming down to the wire, with only a matter of tournaments left to play before the best eight players on the WTA Tour face off in the WTA Finals. The latest to confirm her place in the prestigious event is Jasmine Paolini, who has enjoyed a positive end to the year.

The Italian's place was confirmed after news broke that Mirra Andreeva will not be playing in the Pan Pacific Open next week, with her stuck in eighth position at least, depending on what Elena Rybakina does. With Andreeva not competing in Tokyo, this leaves Paolini comfortably in seventh, which will see her qualify for the second year in a row.

She will be looking for a much-improved result from her debut campaign. Despite winning her first match against Rybakina, she was not good enough to get a result off 2022 finalist Aryna Sabalenka or eventual finalist Zheng Qinwen.

While Paolini may not have kicked on the way she may have wanted to from last year, it still has been a year of many ups for the 29-year-old. Her two Grand Slam finals in Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2024 helped her massively to qualify. This year, her best result in a major was the fourth round in Paris, succumbing to numerous early exits. While this has been a setback, much improved results in the WTA 1000 events have boosted her up compared to last year.

It did not really get going for Paolini until Miami, where she went on a run to the semi-finals. It was not to be however, with a dominant Sabalenka not letting her pass. The same result occurred in Stuttgart as the clay season commenced, with a much closer semi-final but the same winner. A bitterly disappointing result in Madrid was quickly forgotten by her second 1000 title in Rome, her home event. Coco Gauff was waiting for her in the final, but the eventual Roland Garros winner would not be able to stop a rampant Paolini from taking the title in front of her home fans.

While Elina Svitolina ended her Roland Garros final defence, she did go on to win her maiden Grand Slam title with fellow Italian Sara Errani in the women's doubles. This has helped the pair top the rankings for the doubles race to Riyadh, meaning Paolini will be fighting on two fronts once more.

Her highlight on grass was reaching the semi-final in Bad Homburg, losing to eventual runner-up Iga Swiatek. Frustrating defeats in Wimbledon and Montreal followed, but again she backed up disappointment with a great run in another big competition. In Cincinnati, she defeated Gauff on the way to setting up another clash against Swiatek, but the Pole was ruthless, cutting out every chance Paolini had to get her nose in front and eventually coming out on top in a tight tie.

Onto the Asian swing, and she continued to pick up a high number of points, forcing her way into the race. A pair of Americans would end her hopes in Beijing and Wuhan. Amanda Anisimova dumped her out in the semi-finals in the China Open while Gauff got revenge in the Wuhan Open. The pair would go onto win their respected events.

She had her eyes on the title in Ningbo but once again was defeated in the semi-finals, this time by Rybakina who also has ambitions of qualifying her own. Despite this negative result, she will be joining Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff, Anisimova, Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys in Saudi Arabia for the WTA Finals.