Jasmine Paolini Opens up on Parting Ways With Long-Time Coach Renzo Furlan

Jasmine Paolini had a tough win over Maria Sakkari in her opening round in Cincinnati despite a big lead in the first set and the second set tiebreak.

Jasmine Paolini Opens up on Parting Ways With Long-Time Coach Renzo Furlan

Jasmine Paolini and Renzo Furlan (Images via rdo Sport and Tennis Channel)

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After a tense opening round win at the Cincinnati Open over Maria Sakkari, Jasmine Paolini gave an interview to Tennis Channel, speaking about the intense tiebreak in the second set and her coaching changes, amongst many other things. The 29-year-old is looking to regain her momentum after an inconsistent grass season and an opening-round exit in Montreal.

On the subject of coaching change, Paolini opened up on why she had parted ways with long-term coach Renzo Furlan, with whom she reached two Grand Slam finals in singles.

Things happen, sometimes you feel it’s the right time for a change, to move some pieces around. 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…

Jasmine Paolini said (h/t: puntodebreak)

She had a spectacular 2024 season, winning the Olympic gold in women’s doubles alongside Sara Errani, climbing to a career-high of world No. 4, qualifying for the first time for the WTA Finals in both singles and doubles, and leading Italy to its first Billie Jean King Cup title in over a decade.

After parting ways with Furlan in March this year, she worked briefly with Rafael Nadal’s former coach Marc Lopez, under whom she clinched her second WTA 1000 singles title at the Italian Open. She also clinched the doubles title in Rome alongside Sara Errani. On parting ways with Lopez after her opening round exit in Wimbledon, Paolini added:

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.

Up next the Italian will face No. 26 seed Ashlyn Krueger in the third round in Cincinnati. This will mark their first meeting on court. The American had a three-set win over Anastasija Sevastova in her opening round in Cincinnati.

Jasmine Paolini wins the opening round in two tiebreaks

Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini faced a tough opening round match in Cincinnati against Maria Sakkari. Although the Italian surged comfortably from 3-0 to a 5-1 lead in the first set, Sakkari saved four set points and fought back to force a tiebreak, which Paolini ultimately won.

Jasmine Paolini Cincinnati Open 2025
Jasmine Paolini (image via Instagram/Jasmine Paolini)

The next set reached a tiebreak in a more conventional manner, as neither player was broken, and Paolini, moreover, did not face any break points. After Paolini built a 6-0 lead in the tiebreak, Sakkari fought back to take it to 6-5. A double fault on match point by the Greek gave away the victory to Paolini, who won 7-6(7-2), 7-6(7-5) in two hours and 13 minutes. Speaking about the double fault, Paolini candidly remarked,

I’m sorry to her, but yes! After she missed that first serve, I was thinking, like, ‘Please make the double fault!’ I have to be honest, yes. It was a really tough tiebreak. I was up 6-0, and (there was) a volley over the net, and I missed it in the net. And then it was 6-5, and I was praying!

The pair’s head-to-head record is now level at 2-2, with Paolini securing the win in both of their hard-court meetings and Sakkari winning twice on clay court. The winner of Paolini’s upcoming third-round match will meet either lucky loser Iva Jovic or Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round.

Also Read: (In Pictures) Daniil Medvedev Hilariously Puts His Head Inside Fridge During Cincinnati Masters Match