By Admin 
Watching Jasmine Paolini compete on a tennis court is like watching a child at play. All of 5’4”, she is a bundle of joy; she glides across the surface as if she has rollerskates on, caresses the ball more than hitting it and breaks into an innocent smile — often in disbelief — whenever she comes up with an astonishing shot.
But unlike a child at play, Paolini doesn’t mind being observed and there is no fear of being judged. The 29-year-old Italian goes about her business like a seasoned artist in a theatre, bouncing off the audience’s energy and boisterousness but not letting either drag her down.
The last weekend (May 17 and 18) was the acme of this. Playing in front of a rapturous home crowd in Rome, she played one of the best matches of her career to beat American Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2 to win the Italian Open WTA 1000 singles title and become the first from her country in 40 years to triumph (Raffaella Reggi, 1985).
Barely 24 hours later, Paolini combined with compatriot Sara Errani — the 2012 French Open singles finalist — to clinch the doubles crown too. She is only the sixth player in the Open Era to win both singles and doubles at the Italian Open, and the first since nine-time Major winner Monica Seles in 1990.
“It’s special to win here in Rome, and pure joy to have this trophy,” Paolini said after winning the singles, which pushed her up to World No. 4 to equal her career-best ranking.
“I used to come to watch this tournament with my father, and today he was there [in the stands]. I don’t know if he was crying. May be…”
Beacon of consistency
Anyone who has followed tennis closely in the last year and a half will know that Paolini’s twin feats at home weren’t mere flashes in the pan. She may be a late bloomer as she is on the wrong side of the 20s, but she has been a beacon of consistency in a women’s game which has often been marked by great flux.
Coming into 2024, Paolini was 4-16 at Slams. But she reached the fourth round in Melbourne, had a breakthrough trophy at Dubai 1000 and made the French Open and Wimbledon finals back to back. She then won the Billie Jean King Cup with Italy to round off the year, made the Miami 1000 semifinal earlier this March before claiming the top prize in Rome. Since breaking into the top-10 after her run in Paris last year, she hasn’t slipped below No. 7.
“I learnt, a little bit later than other players, that to dream is the most important thing in sport and in life,” she said after Roland-Garros 2024. “When I started to play tennis, I was just enjoying it. I was [just] dreaming to become a professional.
On cloud nine: Paolini had a dream run at home in Rome, winning both the women’s singles and doubles event with Sara Errani. | Photo: Getty Images
“For me, it was surprising to see interviews with Nole [Novak Djokovic] when he was a kid saying that he wanted to be No. 1 and win Wimbledon. I said, ‘it’s unbelievable that you can dream as a child’. It’s unbelievable to see Jannik [Sinner], when he was 15, say that his dream was to be No. 1. I didn’t dream it, you know!
“That, I think, is not positive, because it’s important to dream. I started to dream, I think, step by step.”
Not a one-trick pony
Not only did she broaden her aspirations, she also expanded this to include elite doubles, for Paolini is currently one of the best exponents of the discipline.
It is indeed true that women’s tennis offers a more conducive environment for juggling both responsibilities, and players like singles World No. 2 Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 15 Barbora Krejcikova and No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka have managed that and excelled.
But few have played with the same seriousness and intensity as Paolini, and with a long-standing partner like the 38-year-old Errani. In 2024, they won Rome, reached the Roland-Garros final and bagged the Olympic gold medal in Paris. Not surprisingly, the pair was named the 2024 WTA Doubles Team of the Year.
In 2025, starting with the Australian Open, Paolini has entered eight singles main draws, and she and Errani have been part of the doubles field in all eight. Of these, they have won two — Doha 1000 and Rome.
In October 2024, when she entered the top-10 in doubles, she became the only active player at the time, male or female, to be ranked among the best 10 in both singles and doubles. Right now, she is No. 6 in doubles, to go with No. 4 in singles.
What perhaps helps Paolini is that she has a versatile game. Though not blessed with a big serve — primarily because of her height — she has terrific foot-speed, a competent forehand and an exceptional ability to transition rapidly from the back to the front court. The rewards for those who can fly forward to knock-off volleys, and execute swing volleys from mid-court, are always high, especially in doubles.
“I have improved my game a little bit,” Paolini had said after Wimbledon 2024. “I believe more in myself, have improved my serve, and return. I think, physically, I’m better than two years ago. Winning matches helps too. We are doing a lot of work in the practice sessions with my coach, my fitness coach, the video analysts… so there are many things, not just one.”
Riding the wave
It is also unmistakably clear that Paolini is one among many who are riding the wave as Italian tennis grows from strength to strength. Sinner, despite losing the singles final on Sunday (May 18) to Carlos Alcaraz, is still the World No. 1, and Lorenzo Musetti is at a career-high No. 8. Italy has been hosting the year-end ATP Finals in Turin since 2021 and recently kept the rights until 2030.
From 2017 to 2022, Milan was where the Next Gen ATP Finals was held, and Sinner even won the title in 2019. And the European nation is not just the Billie Jean King Cup holder but a two-time reigning Davis Cup champion as well. Such is the perceived heft that Italian Tennis Federation president Angelo Binaghi wants to make Rome the fifth Grand Slam event!
More immediately, this muscle and robustness will be reflected in both Sinner and Paolini being the favourites for the French Open, which begins on May 25. The women’s roster, in particular, seems to contain more than a handful of players with championship-winning capability as the three-time defending and four-time champion Iga Swiatek is battling patchy form.
The Pole has dropped to No. 5 in the world, hasn’t won a title all year and didn’t reach a single final across three clay tune-ups in Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome. Reigning Australian Open champion Sabalenka, though in form, is still not as good on slow to medium-fast clay as she is on the faster and bouncier red dirt, like in Madrid where she won last month.
Gauff is a former finalist in Paris (2022) and has reached successive finals in Madrid and Rome. But her game is far from being invincible, and the 21-year-old still seems over-reliant on her legs and defensive capabilities to see her through.
“I’m not feeling myself [as] the favourite,” Paolini insisted after conquering Rome.
“It’s always tough to play a tournament like that. I am trying to stay focused on the first match, and hopefully I will play more matches than one. I just want to step on court and enjoy, and not think too much about expectations.”
Published – May 20, 2025 12:50 am IST