'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Marion Bartoli and her daughter were spotted in the stands during the semi-final round of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday (February 23).
Bartoli, 39, retired from the sport in 2013 just weeks after winning her first and only Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. She married Belgian footballer Yahya Boumediene in December 2019 and the couple welcomed their baby daughter, Kamilya, 12 months later.
Bartoli was spotted with Kamilya in the stands in Dubai as the mother-daughter duo watched the semi-final encounter between Sorana Cirstea and Jasmine Paolini.
Watch the moment below:
Paolini made light work of the first set, winning 6-2, before forcing the second set to a tiebreaker after saving five set points on Cirstea's serve. She then saved another set point at 5-6 in the tiebreaker before winning the next three points in a row.
Paolini is on a hot streak in Dubai, having dropped just one set en route to her first-ever final at the Dubai Open. The World No. 26 will now take on Anna Kalinskaya in the final of the WTA 1000 event on Saturday (February 24) after the Russian won her semi-final match against Iga Swiatek later in the day.
Jasmine Paolini opens up about cracking top 20 after Dubai Tennis Championships SF win
Jasmine Paolini is guaranteed to break into the top 20 of the singles ranking on the WTA Tour for the first time in her career following her win over World No. 22 Sorana Cirstea at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Speaking on the feat after her win against the Romanian, an emotional Paolini said:
"At the end of the week if you told me I’d be top 20 after this tournament I would say you’re crazy. Now I’m really happy. I’m looking forward to playing a good match tomorrow. (00:18)"
Paolini will meet giant-killer Anna Kalinskaya in the final after the Russian downed World No. 1 Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-4, in her semi-final encounter. Before her win against the Pole, Kalinskaya beat two seeded players — Coco Gauff (3) in the last eight and Jelena Ostapenko (9) in the Round of 16.
The final will hence be between two players who were arguably seen as underdogs before the start of the WTA 1000 in Dubai. Kalinskaya has never won a singles title on the Tour while Paolini's only singles win came at the WTA 250 in Slovenia in 2021.
The two players have met twice on the tour before, winning one match each. Their most recent meeting came in the last 16 of the 2024 Australian Open, which Kalinskaya won in straight sets.
