Garcia defeated by Paolini in the second round at Doha

The women's round of sixteen at the Doha tournament continued. After Swiatek and Fernandez had qualified for the last 16, Caroline Garcia was keen to follow in their footsteps, but faced an uphill struggle against world number 4 Jasmine Paolini.

The Frenchwoman leads 5-2 in the head-to-head, but the Italian has won the last two matches and may have the psychological advantage.

After picking up her first win of 2025 in her first round match against Yuan Yue (6-1, 7-6), Garcia, ranked 76th in the world, was unable to follow up and lost in two sets (6-3, 6-4), confirming her current difficulties.

Paolini, who was eliminated in the third round of the Australian Open by Elina Svitolina, has reassured herself and is through to the last 16, where she will face either Jelena Ostapenko or Liudmila Samsonova, who meet later in the day.