Paolini reached the Round of 16 in Madrid last year.
Roland Garros 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini opens her 2025 Mutua Madrid Open account against the talented British star Katie Boulter on Friday. Paolini, seeded sixth, received a bye in Round-1. On the other hand, Boulter overcame doubles specialist Katerina Siniakova in three sets en route to the Round of 64.
29-year-old Jasmine Paolini is in a very interesting juncture of her career. Runner-up at two of the four Grand Slams, the Italian still finds herself being tagged as an underdog of sorts. She has reached the semifinals of her last two tournaments in Miami and Stuttgart – losing to Aryna Sabalenka both times. Paolini was ousted by Mirra Andreeva in the Round of 16 of Madrid last year.
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British No. 1 Katie Boulter has only played three competitions in 2025 thus far, ahead of the Madrid Open. She has secured merely two victories in three tournaments, causing her to drop from No. 23 in late 2024 to No. 40 in early 2025. At the Miami Open, Boulter was beaten 4-6 2-6 in the opening round by American Peyton Stearns.
The head to head record between Jasmine Paolini and Katie Boulter is level at 2-2. It is a rivalry that has spanned over a decade.
The first match between Paolini and Boulter was at Imola in 2014. It was Boulter who opened up proceedings with a straight sets thrashing of her 5’4” pocket rocket counterpart. It is important to note that every match-up between the two has ended in straight sets, meaning there has been a clear victor on all occasions. Could Friday be the first time we see a three-set thriller?
| Event | Round | Winner | Score |
| 2024 Eastbourne | Quarterfinal | Jasmine Paolini | 6-1 7-6(0) |
| 2024 Linz | Round of 32 | Katie Boulter | 6-2 6-2 |
| 2022 Indian Wells | Round of 128 | Jasmine Paolini | 6-3 6-2 |
| 2014 Imola | Quarterfinal | Katie Boulter | 6-2 6-2 |
| Jasmine Paolini | Category | Katie Boulter |
| 0 | Grand Slams | 0 |
| 2 | WTA Singles Titles | 3 |
| 7 | WTA Doubles Titles | 0 |
| 1 | WTA-1000 Titles | 0 |
| R3 (Paris 2024) | Olympics Best Performance | R1 (Paris 2024) |
| No. 6 | Current World Ranking | No. 40 |
Danke, Stuttgart!! Thanks so much for all the support last night! 😀🇩🇪🇮🇹🙏❤️ pic.twitter.com/o9cs6rUvbZ
— Jasmine Paolini (@JasminePaolini) April 16, 2025
While the head to head record suggests a battle of fine margins, it is the surface that counts. Paolini is miles ahead in terms of being comfortable on the red dirt. She will look to unsettle Boulter’s baseline heavy game by resorting to acute angles as well as plenty of drop shots. Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Brit must have a practically flawless serving game in order to overpower the Italian.
Prediction: Jasmine Paolini in straight sets.
Jasmine Paolini Win: 1/4
Katie Boulter Win: 13/4
A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.
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