Jasmine Paolini races to Wimbledon final thanks to Ghanaian roots, says father

Italy’s tennis star Jasmine Paolini’s father revealed that her Ghanaian ‘roots’ have helped her become fast on the tennis court. The 28-year-old became an actual surprise package as she booked her place in the Wimbledon final.

Paolini’s father, Ugo, was recently quoted in a report where he described what makes the world number seven so special. He stated that her Ghanaian roots because of her mother make her extremely quick, which makes her a problematic opinion.

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“There is great happiness, even if for now I haven’t taken it all in. I haven’t yet taken in Paris and then I will think about Wimbledon. But it is a dream,” he said. “We always believed in it, we always supported her. Above all her mother, who always took her everywhere. Her character is like her mother’s – like a train. She has been like this since she was a child. When she gets something in her head, she goes full steam ahead.”

Paolini booked her place in the final of the mega-event after beating Croatia’s Donna Vekic with a score of 2-6, 6-4, 7-6. It will be her second consecutive final appearance at the Grand Slam. Previously, the Castelnuovo di Garfagnana-born also played in the final of the French Open where she lost to the world number one Iga Swiatek in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-1.

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Her opponent in the final will be the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova who booked her place in the final after beating Elena Rybakina with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. It will be her second appearance in the final of a Grand Slam and first since the French Open in 2021. It will be only the second meeting between the two. In their only meeting previously, which was in the first round of the Australian Open earlier this year, it was Krejcikova who came out on top in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-1.