For Jasmine Paolini, the 2026 Australian Open is her first tournament of the new season. Following a disappointing WTA Finals, she came locked in for the Grand Slam challenge, yet to drop a set. But during her second-round match against Magdalena Fręch, something really unexpected happened.

As seen on the Australian Open’s YouTube channel, with a 5-1 lead in the first set and a crucial point at 40-40 on her serve, the Italian’s focus was suddenly broken. A small insect had crawled onto her side of the court, settling right behind the baseline as she prepared to serve.

Paolini, however, wasn’t concerned but amused as play paused for a bit. The Italian tried to sweep the bug away with her racket, but she was unable to. And this is where the ball kid came to the rescue. They sprinted over, picking the bug up with their hands, and carried it safely towards the sidelines. The reaction of the Melbourne crowd?

Well, watching the ball kid’s kind gesture towards the bug, they were amused by how easily the whole situation was handled. However, this isn’t the only notable moment that Paolini has had at the current edition of the Australian Open involving the ball kids.

A few days ago, the Australian Open’s Facebook page posted a picture of the Italian with the ball kids at Melbourne Park. “Happy Slam vibes™ with Jasmine Paolini and the largest ever #AusOpen ballkid squad,” the caption read, showcasing the tennis star sporting a huge smile on her face in front of row after row of ball kids clad in navy blue.

There’s a personal connection for Paolini too, who’s been in their exact shoes. At the 2009 Billie Jean King Cup, Paolini was a ball girl to her now doubles partner Sara Errani’s Cup-winning team.

And while Errani and Paolini cruised through their opening round women’s doubles match at Melbourne Park, the Italian has also pushed herself to the third round of the singles main draw. So who will she face next?

Jasmine Paolini’s next challenger at the Australian Open

Following her straight set victories over Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Fręch at Melbourne Park, Jasmine Paolini will be facing America’s Iva Jovic. And this tennis star isn’t someone new; the Italian has come across her in the past, especially in the last season.

In 2025, Paolini faced Jovic two times. The first one was at Indian Wells, where the Italian secured a hard-fought victory in three sets, 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-3. However, in their second-ever match-up, which was at the prestigious US Open, Paolini secured another victory, but it was with ease, as the Italian dominated the American at her home turf 6-3, 6-3. And now, she just has to carry on the same momentum at the Australian Open.

Coming to a highly-anticipated 2026 season, she described her feelings after her first round victory, saying, “I said to myself, ‘you haven’t smiled since you got up’. Smile a little bit because if not, you step on the court and you play bad. For me, it’s important to enjoy my tennis, enjoy being on court, so sometimes I force myself to smile more.”

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And with this mindset, she’s looking forward to sailing past this round and securing herself for a deep Slam run.