Paolini Rallies From 0-5 Down to Win in Ningbo

Jasmine Paolini had the first set of her Ningbo opener in hand and the second one nearly gone. Anhelina Kalinina led 5-0 in the second set on Tuesday before the Italian took the last seven games of the match for a 6-2, 7-5 first-round win at the BNB Ningbo Open, turning a likely deciding set into a straight-sets result.

Kalinina had already been given one reprieve this week. The Ukrainian beat Simona Waltert 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in her first qualifying match, lost to Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the final round and still reached the main draw as a lucky loser. She came within a game of forcing a third set against a player who reached the Ningbo semifinals last year before losing to Elena Rybakina.