Paolini Defeats Kalinskaya in Comeback Victory for Dubai Title

Jasmine Paolini of Italy celebrates with the trophy after winning the final match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis WTA Championships 2024 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 24 February 2024.  EPA/ALI HAIDER
Jasmine Paolini of Italy celebrates with the trophy after winning the final match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis WTA Championships 2024 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 24 February 2024. EPA/ALI HAIDER
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Paolini Defeats Kalinskaya in Comeback Victory for Dubai Title

Jasmine Paolini of Italy celebrates with the trophy after winning the final match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis WTA Championships 2024 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 24 February 2024.  EPA/ALI HAIDER
Jasmine Paolini of Italy celebrates with the trophy after winning the final match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis WTA Championships 2024 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 24 February 2024. EPA/ALI HAIDER

Jasmine Paolini earned her biggest title by defeating Anna Kalinskaya 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the Dubai Championships final on Saturday.
Paolini fought back from a break down in the second and third sets en route to the second WTA singles title of her nine-year tour-level career.
The 26th-ranked Paolini and 40th-ranked Kalinskaya defied a field that started with 16 of the top 20 women, including the top four.
Paolini won her first title in Slovenia in 2021 and lost three finals since then. She lost to Kalinskaya a month ago in the Australian Open fourth round. Saturday’s victory assured the Italian of a top 15 debut when the rankings are updated on Monday.
“It's so special. I'm really happy and really surprised,” an emotional, smiling Paolini said on court, according to The Associated Press.
“I'm just happy that I believed I could win every match. I remember my first match this week. It was second set, I'd lost the first and was a break down, yet now I'm here winning the title. It's unbelievable.”
Paolini trailed 6-4, 3-1. Then she was 4-2 down in the third set. She stopped Kalinskaya serving for the match at 5-4.
Kalinskaya came through qualifying and beat three top-10 players in a row — including No. 1 Iga Swiatek — to reach her first final. Kalinskaya will debut in the top 30 on Monday.



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.