Paolini commits 67 unforced errors and exits early in Montreal

Jasmine Paolini’s run at the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal ended in the second round. The world No. 9, who has struggled to maintain consistent form since her title in Rome in May, experienced a scenario similar to her Roland-Garros round-of-16 loss to Elina Svitolina.

Despite being in control against Japanese qualifier Aoi Ito—leading 6-2, 4-1—Paolini collapsed in the second set. The Italian missed a match point at 5-4 on her opponent’s serve, but Ito fought back, winning six of the last seven games to force a decisive third set.

Both players then found more success on return, and tension escalated in the tiebreak. After a nail-biting 2 hours and 25 minutes, Ito ultimately clinched victory on her first match point (2-6, 7-5, 7-6).

In total, Paolini hit 32 winners but also committed 67 unforced errors. After an early exit at Wimbledon—where she fell in the second round to Kamilla Rakhimova—the two-time Grand Slam singles finalist continues to struggle.

Since her triumph in Rome before Roland-Garros, she has reached just one semifinal on the main tour (Bad Homburg, lost to Swiatek), raising concerns as the US Open looms in a month.

World No. 110 Ito continues her strong run after defeating Sasnovich in qualifying and Volynets in the first round. In the round of 16, she will face Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who upset Ashlyn Krueger.