13th seed Jasmine Paolini defeats Viktorija Golubic 7-6, 6-4 on Court 17 to seal her place in the women’s singles third round at Wimbledon 2026.
Introduction:
Thirteenth seed Jasmine Paolini brought her trademark infectious smile and high-intensity baseline tennis to Court 17, dispatching Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic in straight sets. The Italian star weathered an unpredictable opening frame before marching to a hard-fought 7-6(0), 6-4 victory, booking her spot in the third round of Wimbledon 2026.
The second-round matchup provided a beautiful contrast of styles on London’s outer courts. Golubic tried to utilize her classic, single-handed backhand and heavy variety, but Paolini’s relentless footwork and baseline aggression ultimately proved too hot to handle.
Roller Coaster Opening Set Settled by a Perfect Tiebreak
The match began chaotically as both players struggled to protect their service games on the slick grass. A nervy opening sequence saw six breaks of serve between the two competitors as they traded heavy blows from the back of the court. Golubic, ranked 62nd in the world, used her grass-court pedigree to push the seeded Italian deep behind the baseline, keeping the scoreboard locked all the way to a tiebreak.
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Once inside the tiebreak, however, Paolini turned the frame into a completely one-sided affair. Shaking off her earlier serving hiccups, the Italian played a flawless string of points. She completely shut out the Swiss veteran, taking the tiebreak 7-0 with a sequence of blistering cross-court forehands to seal the opening set.
Gritty Second-Set Turnaround Seals the Victory
The second set opened with a momentary slip for Golubic, who coughed up a costly double fault to gift Paolini an immediate break. Though the resilient Swiss woman fought back to capture a brief 3-2 lead, Paolini quickly reeled off eight consecutive points to snatch the momentum right back.
The 13th seed ruthlessly targeted her opponent’s second serve, winning an impressive 64% of those points. Paolini struck a grand total of 39 winners across the one-hour-and-40-minute battle. Serving for the match at 5-4, she closed out the contest on her second match point with an emphatic forehand winner down the line.
