Two billionaires knocked out of Wimbledon with one stone

History has been made at Wimbledon with an unlikely player knocking two billionaires out in the space of ten seconds.

Jasmine Paolini of Italy celebrates. Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images.

Jasmine Paolini swept aside Emma Navarro in straight sets on Wednesday morning to reach her first Wimbledon semi-final where she will face Donna Vekic.

Italian seventh seed Paolini, the runner-up at the French Open last month, triumphed 6-2, 6-1 over 19th seed Navarro in just 57 minutes on a big day of quarter-final results in the gentlemen’s and ladies’ singles draws.

The 28-year-old fired 19 winners to her opponent’s six as she celebrated a first win over the American, having lost three times this year.

Paolini had not won a tour-level main draw match on grass before this year.

Her win sees her become the first woman from her country to every reach a Wimbledon semi-final.

“It’s unbelievable, it’s amazing to get the win in this special court,” said Paolini, the first Italian woman in the Open era to make the last four at Wimbledon.

“I’m so happy to be in the semi-final, I don’t know what to say in this moment. “It’s a dream to be here in this position, to be in the semi-final. I was watching finals when I was a kid, on this court.”

Jasmine Paolini of Italy acknowledges the crowd. Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images.

Jasmine Paolini of Italy was all smiles at the microphone. Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images.

The win was of great significance to the tennis landscape and perhaps the biggest will be her promotion to the top five of the WTA Tour rankings when they are updated on Monday following the conclusion of the tournament.

The win over Navarro is also a case of her knocking out two billionaires in one day.

Her rise up the rankings will come at the expense of American star and world No. 5 Jessica Pegula.

Pegula is the richest player on the WTA Tour as the child of billionaire parents — Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula.

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula of United States. Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

Terry Pegula’s net worth is reportedly around A$10 billion.

Navarro’s net worth has also made her a high profile figure on the WTA Tour despite her ranking sitting at No. 19 on the pro tour.

It did not go unnoticed that Paolini had knocked two billionaires out with one stroke of her racquet.

Pegula has not dropped below the top since 2022.

Killing 2 billionaires with 1 stone, or whatever the phrase is https://t.co/w0dG6yrLNf

— ✋🏾😧🤚🏾 (@shesaboutdone) July 9, 2024

Paolini recovered from 1-2 down in the opening set and never looked back as Navarro was unable to repeat the form that accounted for Grand Slam title winners Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff in the previous rounds.

Paoloni is very much a late bloomer.

Until this season, she had never made it past the second round of a Grand Slam in 16 appearances.

That changed with a fourth-round run at the Australian Open followed by a runner-up finish to Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros.

Her grand slam record this year stands at 14 wins and two losses.

Until Wednesday, she had also lost three consecutive first round matches at the All England Club.

Who is Emma Navarro’s family?

She was born to Kelly and Ben Navarro, who is the billionaire founder and chief operating officer of the Sherman Financial Group that runs Credit One.

Ben, who attempted to buy the Carolina Panthers NFL team in 2018, bought the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament in Cincinnati in 2022 under Beemok Capital.

He is the son of former college football coach Frank Navarro, who had tenures at Williams College, Columbia, Wabash College and Princeton.

“As a fan, father, and business owner, tennis has brought so much to our family,” Ben told The Post and Courier in 2019.

“Junior tennis has provided a place for our children to learn a work ethic, develop friendship through shared struggle, and learn to handle disappointment, defeat, and sometimes even unfairness.”

Donna Vekic kills fairy tale story

Donna Vekic of Croatia celebrates winning match point. Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images.

Donna Vekic has reached the last four of a Grand Slam for the first time at the 43rd attempt.

“I felt like I was dying out there in the first two sets but I just kept going, hoping to have a chance and it came in the end,” said the 28-year-old world number 37.

Sun, ranked 123rd in the world, was playing her eighth match of the tournament, including qualifying, in two weeks and the strain eventually told.

“Maybe if I could have moved faster, maybe if I didn’t have the cramps, who knows what would have happened,” said Sun, who will rise into the top 60 thanks to her All England Club run.

Italian seventh seed Paolini, the runner-up at the French Open last month, needed just 57 minutes to see off Navarro, the conqueror of second-ranked Coco Gauff in the last round.

The 28-year-old, who had not won a tour-level main draw match on grass before this year, fired 19 winners to her opponent’s six.

“It’s a dream to be here in this position, to be in the semi-final,” said Paolini, the first Italian woman in the Open era to make the last four.

The tournament’s remaining quarter-finals take place on Wednesday, with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic facing Alex de Minaur, while Taylor Fritz clashes with Lorenzo Musetti.

In the women’s draw, 2022 champion Elena Rybakina tackles Elina Svitolina, with Jelena Ostapenko and Barbora Krejcikova meeting in a clash of former French Open champions.

— with AFP