"She told me we are gonna meet in final" - Jasmine Paolini recalls Anna Kalinskaya's coach predicting their fate after beating Russian to win in Dubai

Jasmine Paolini and Anna Kalinskaya had a dream week at the Dubai Tennis Championships, reaching the final with the former lifting her maiden WTA 1000 crown after a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 come-from-behind victory.

Paolini was understandably over the moon after her win, improbable as it looked after she dropped that opening set.

The unlikely finalists stunned many star players to reach their first WTA 1000 final, but the results were not surprising for everyone.

Speaking during the trophy presentation ceremony, Paolini revealed that she had a brief interaction with Anna Kalinskaya’s coach Patricia Tarabini earlier in the week, during which Tarabini predicted their fate in the tournament, saying they both would make it to the final.

Paolini said the Argentine coach's words came across as “crazy” at the time, given that the likes of Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina were all still in the draw.

"Congrats to Anna [Kalinskaya]," Jasmine Paolini said. "You played an unbelievable week from qualifying. You’re doing an amazing job with Patricia. One of the nicest coaches on tour, I have to say."

"I’ll tell you something. Before the quarterfinals, I met Patricia and she told me we are gonna meet in the final. I was like 'Are you crazy?' And we meet in the final. Unbelievable," she added.

Paolini continued:

"It's special to have this trophy in my hands. Was such a great tournament. Every player was here. Yeah, was really, really tough draw. I'm just happy."

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Jasmine Paolini and Anna Kalinskaya set to reach new career-high rankings

Jasmine Paolini and Anna Kalinskaya at the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships.

Both Jasmine Paolini and Anna Kalinskaya will reach new career-high rankings when it is updated on Monday (February 26) courtesy of their strong performance over the week.

Paolini added a massive 965 points to her tally over the week, which saw her emerging victorious over the likes of Elena Rybakina (W/O), Leylah Fernandez, Maria Sakkari and Beatriz Haddad Maia. She will rise 12 spots to go from No. 26 to No. 14.

Kalinskaya, meanwhile, took out World No. 1 Iga Swiatek as well as the reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff during her magical run, which had begun in the qualifiers.

The Russian will jump 16 spots to go from No. 40 to No. 24 in the world rankings. She had added a total of 679 points to her tally by making it to the summit clash of the Dubai Tennis Championships with her previous career-high ranking being World No. 38.