Jasmine Paolini left Court 5 with a win and a little extra luck on Wednesday.
The Italian knocked off countrywoman Lucrezia Stefanini in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, and as she was signing autographs for fans, one woman handed her a $2 bill for good luck.
At first Paolini thought the fan – a blonde woman wearing sunglasses – was asking her to sign the $2 bill before it was explained that, no, it was a gift to the No. 19 seed for good luck.
Paolini politely thanked the fan after she explained to the 30-year-old she should keep it in her bag for the rest of the tournament.
“I thought it was a nice gift and she told me this was the lucky one,” Paolini said when asked by The Post about the interaction. “[She said] ‘keep it for yourself.’ I was like, okay. I put it in the bag and it [will] stay with me.
“We’ll see if it’s going to work. That’s the important thing.”
The World No. 21-ranked women’s tennis player already has found a love for playing in New York.
In a post on her Instagram, she wrote how much she enjoyed being back in the Big Apple and the interaction with the fan on Wednesday only added to that.
“I think the city is something special, something different from the others, and the fans as well,” she said after her match. “They are so loud, so excited and many Italians as well. So it’s a nice place to play tennis, I think, because the energy, it’s really high.”
The dueling Italians provided an entertaining first set before Paolini was able to close it out when Stefanni returned a serve into the net. Paolini rolled to a victory in the second set.
The No. 19 seed is appearing in her seventh main draw at the U.S. Open, and the 2024 Wimbledon runner-up is looking to beat her best performance at the Flushing tournament – a Round of 16 appearance in 2024.
Paolini will face Romanian Sorana Cîrstea in the third round of the tournament, and she’ll see just how lucky the $2 bill she was gifted really is.
