The US Open's "one in a million" moment belongs to Jasmine Paolini

It's sure to be one of the most memorable photos from this US Open. A photographer captured Jasmine Paolini during her match with her mouth and eyes perfectly positioned behind a manufacturer's logo—a "one in a million" shot that was shared on social media by the Italian Ray Giubilo.

The photographer regularly shares images he captures as a tennis photographer on his social media. Many of the tour's biggest stars, including Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz, and Fabio Fognini, are featured on his Instagram profile. However, the most recent photo of Paolini has stolen the spotlight, with more than 58,000 likes at the time of this post, and it was even later shared by the WTA's official account.

The current Italian women's No. 1 played her first-round US Open match against Australia's Destanee Aiava, who had qualified to reach the main draw at Flushing Meadows for the second consecutive year. The 24-year-old put up a good fight against Paolini, but the European ultimately won 6-2, 7-6.

Paolini secured her second-round match against 17-year-old Iva Jovic, one of the names starting to make a name for herself on the Tour and who already has four Grand Slam tournament victories despite her young age. This won't be the first time they face each other, as Paolini defeated Jovic in March of this year in the second round of Indian Wells, in a tough battle 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-3.

It's never easy to debut against a qualifier, especially since they come in with several victories and a higher match rhythm on the tournament courts. However, Paolini showed her class from the start—and the great form she has been in over the last few weeks—by easily winning the first set 6-2, though she wasn't yet playing her best tennis. The Italian gave up an early break but then recovered to win six of the next seven games, including three breaks, partly taking advantage of Aiava's consistent unforced errors.

While Paolini seemed to be just warming up in the first set, both players raised their level on serve in the second, giving up few break opportunities. In fact, Aiava got a break on her first chance, and Paolini broke back immediately on hers. From there, neither could put their opponent in trouble on the return, and the set went to a tiebreak. It was there that the two-time major runner-up showed her best tennis and recovered from a 3-4 deficit to win the last four points in a row, securing the victory 6-2, 7-6(4).

Paolini has been more than consistent over the last couple of seasons, deservedly establishing herself in the top 10. She has not only reached two Grand Slam finals but also has two WTA 1000 titles (Dubai 2024 and Rome 2025). Although she reached a relatively advanced age without making a big impression on the tour, she stepped up over the last two years and has managed to stay among the best.

Recently, she made a change to her coaching staff, hiring Federico Gaio, which led to some irregular results, such as a second-round loss at Wimbledon and a first-round exit at the Canadian Open.

However, sooner rather than later, Paolini regained her place among the world's best, reaching the final of the Cincinnati Open just a week ago. On her way there, she defeated Maria Sakkari, Ashlyn Krueger, Barbora Krejcikova, Coco Gauff, and Veronika Kudermetova, setting up a final with Iga Swiatek for the second time in her career (the previous one was at the 2024 Roland Garros). The Pole ended up taking the victory, extending their head-to-head record to 6-0, but Paolini earned a good boost of points that keeps her in the top 10 and in direct contention for a spot in the WTA Finals. Her campaign in New York this week will be key for a potential second consecutive qualification for the Finals.