A Presence That Grates: Why Paolini's Participation in the WTA Finals is Controversial

Jasmine Paolini has earned the right to play in the WTA Finals, despite a WTA rule that could have cost her place in Riyadh in the coming days.

Paolini has confirmed her 2024 season. A double Grand Slam finalist (Roland-Garros and Wimbledon), the Italian won the WTA 1000 in Rome at home and also won the BJK Cup, leading her country to victory against China, Ukraine, and the United States. Ranked 8th in the Race, the 29-year-old player qualified at the last minute for the WTA Finals in Riyadh, and for the second consecutive season.

During the Asian tour, the world number 8 secured her place in the Finals thanks to a semi-final at the WTA 500 tournament in Ningbo. While she was competing with Elena Rybakina and Mirra Andreeva for one of the two remaining spots for the WTA Finals, the Italian, assured of participating in this prestigious tournament, ultimately withdrew from the WTA 500 in Tokyo.

However, Paolini, who will face Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula starting Saturday in the Saudi capital, could very well have not participated in the tournament due to a specific rule established by the WTA. The governing body indeed requires players to compete in a minimum of six tournaments belonging to the WTA 500 category during the season.

Thus, Paolini competed in the WTA 500 tournaments in Stuttgart, Berlin, Bad Homburg, and Ningbo, making only four tournaments instead of six. But the WTA also granted her a participation in the WTA 500 in Adelaide at the very beginning of the season. Although she was initially registered to play in the Australian tournament, the Italian ultimately withdrew 48 hours before the tournament began.

According to the official regulations, if a player presents herself at the site of a WTA 500 tournament and withdraws from the tournament for "medical reasons" while having participated in the event's mandatory promotional activities (including press conferences), the WTA counts the player's participation in the tournament even if she did not compete.

Paolini did not receive any penalty points thanks to the situation with the Adelaide tournament, which allowed her to secure her place with just a six-point lead over Mirra Andreeva. The Russian, for her part, was initially supposed to participate in the WTA 500 tournament in Tokyo but was unable to compete due to a visa issue.

As for Paolini, after her defeat in Ningbo, she canceled her participation in the Japanese capital, as she had learned of her qualification for the 2025 WTA Finals after her semi-final in the Chinese tournament.

If the WTA had decided not to count Paolini's participation in Adelaide in January, she would not have received the points for her participation and would have had ten fewer points in the Race.

A ranking that would have then allowed Andreeva to participate in the WTA Finals for the first time in her career. The 18-year-old player, already in the world's top 5, won her first two WTA 1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells at the start of the season.