There will be two first-timers in the 2024 French Open women’s semifinal. 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva of Russia will play 28-year-old Italian Jasmine Paolini in the semifinals Thursday. Neither has played in a Grand Slam semifinal before.
Both Paolini and Andreeva beat tough, established competitors to earn spots in their maiden Grand Slam semifinal. Paolini took on world No. 4 Elena Rybakina, and came out swinging her racket with enormous confidence. With Paolini standing just 5’4, it felt like the matchup would favor the long, lithe Rybakina, but Paolini played with a graceful energy that more than made up for her shorter limbs. By contrast, Rybakina was wild, committing 48 unforced errors, more than double Paolini’s total of 22. After stumbling in the second set, Paolini won 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
The young Andreeva played world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, and while Sabalenka plays a hard-swinging high-speed game, Andreeva was ready for it. Sabalenka’s relentlessness can quickly exhaust any opponent, but Andreeva wouldn’t wither. Not even after losing a first set tiebreak, which can deflate even the mightiest players. She came back and beat Sabalenka in straight sets, winning 6(5)-7, 6-4, 6-4, becoming the youngest Grand Slam semifinalist since 1997.
While Paolini didn’t make her first Grand Slam semi until she was 28, she’s far from an unranked upstart. She debuted on the women’s tour in 2015, got her first WTA win in 2018, and began seeing more consistent results over the last few years. She began 2024 by making it to the fourth round of the Australian Open, then followed that up with a WTA 1000 win in Dubai. She began the year ranked No. 30 in the world, but was up to No. 15 before the French Open.
Andreeva is just 17 but has shown immense talent for years. She went pro just over a year ago and has already gone deep in most of the majors, making it to the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2023 and the Australian Open in 2024. She took down one of the fiercest and most fearsome competitors on the entire women’s tour in Sabalenka, but will now face a 28-year-old who is making the deepest Grand Slam run in her decade-long career.
Andreeva will have no fear when she takes the court Thursday, but neither will Paolini. There may be 11 years between them, but they’ll both be in that spot for the first time: battling for a shot at a Grand Slam final.
