Jasmine Paolini

thumb|Jasmine Paolini in 2023 Jasmine Paolini (born 1996) is an Italian professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 4 in singles by the WTA, the joint-highest-ranked Italian woman in singles (alongside Francesca Schiavone), and No. 4 in doubles. She is a major champion in doubles at the 2025 French Open, partnering Sara Errani. Representing her country, Paolini won an Olympic gold medal in doubles at the 2024 Paris Olympics, also with Errani. Quotes I started playing tennis in Bagni di Lucca when I was very young. Since it's not a big town, I didn't have a wide choice of sports to practice, even though there is an excellent tennis club and swimming pools in the area. In the end, I opted for the former, as swimming never appealed to me. Encouraged by my father and uncle, but especially by the latter, who had always played and was the first to sign me up, I tried playing tennis and enjoyed it right away. You could say it happened by chance, but I was lucky. From Tommaso Giacomelli, ‘’Jasmine Paolini, interview with the Italian tennis champion: from her recent successes to her connection with Bagni di Lucca‘’, ‘'loschermo.it’', July 19, 2020. (About Iga Świątek) The simplicity with which she plays is impressive. In women's tennis, it's not so common to play against someone who does everything very well and always makes the right choice. From an interview by Fabio Colangelo, ‘’Jasmine Paolini: “I am proud to have believed in Furlan even in difficult times”‘’, ‘'tennisitaliano.it’', February 16, 2023. [...] I started playing tennis at the age of 5 and fell in love with the sport. It was love at first sight. I feel great when I play. When I was younger, I used to watch the Grand Slam finals [...]. But it was hard to imagine that I could do it myself. Of course, I wanted to, but now it's something crazy for me. [...] "I started playing tennis at the age of 5 and fell in love with the sport. It was love at first sight. I feel good when I play. When I was younger, I used to watch the Grand Slam finals [...]. But it was hard to imagine that I could achieve that myself. Of course, I wanted to, but now it's something crazy for me." From the interview ‘’[https://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/Actualites/Jasmine-paolini-apres-sa-qualification-pour-la-finale-de-roland-garros-c-est-quelque-chose-de-fou-pour-moi/1472971 Jasmine Paolini after qualifying for the Roland-Garros final: “C'est quelque chose de fou pour moi” (It's crazy for me)), lequipe.fr, June 6, 2024. I dreamed of becoming a professional, but not of being number 1 or winning a Grand Slam. Never. Not even of entering the top 10 [...]. But I hoped for it, without really believing it. Then, step by step, step by step, I started to believe in myself without projecting myself too far ahead. That's why I was surprised to hear Nole's [Novak Đoković, ed.] interviews when he was a child, in which he said he wanted to become number 1 in the world and win Wimbledon. I watched them and it seemed incredible to me that children could dream like that. The same goes for Jannik [Sinner, ed.], who at 15 said his dream was to become number 1 in the world. I'm very happy, but I think I'm a different person. ‘'When I started playing, I didn't dream too much. I just loved playing. Then I started training like a professional player. I dreamed of becoming a pro, but not of being number 1 or winning a Grand Slam tournament. Never. Not even of being in the top 10’' [...]. ''But I hoped, without really believing it. Then, step by step, I started to believe in myself without projecting too far ahead. That's why I found Nole's (Novak Djokovic) interviews surprising when he was a child and said he wanted to be world number one and win Wimbledon. I watched that and found it incredible that you could dream of that as a child. The same goes for Jannik (Sinner), who at 15 said his dream was to be world number one. I'm very happy, but I'm a different person, I think." From the interview ‘’[https://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/Actualites/Jasmine-paolini-apres-sa-qualification-pour-la-finale-de-roland-garros-c-est-quelque-chose-de-fou-pour-moi/1472971 Jasmine Paolini after qualifying for the Roland-Garros final: “C'est quelque chose de fou pour moi” (It's crazy for me)), lequipe.fr, June 6, 2024. Polonia, Ghana, Italia: è il giorno di Jasmine From an interview of Riccardo Bisti, tennisitaliano.it, 10 February 2018 You get hurt, after the injury you can't find yourself again and a thousand doubts arise about your level, your ability to play well... uncertainty after uncertainty, your level drops. If you go on court without being calm, it becomes difficult. Interviewer: “Everyone says about you: ‘She has a great forehand but she's short’. What do you say to that? Jasmine Paolini: It's not a problem and I don't even think about it. I know what I need to improve, for example my serve, but for me, height isn't a huge disadvantage. Okay, if I were 5 centimeters taller, maybe I would serve a little better... but maybe I would be less agile. Like everything, it has its pros and cons. Interviewer: “During a match, have you ever thought that you would have won if you were 10 centimeters taller?” Jasmine Paolini: Never. The only question I ask myself is how I would serve if I were taller. That said, I can serve just as well. We're working on it, especially on transferring what I do in training to the match. During training, I serve pretty well. In a match, it's more difficult: I might miss a couple, I don't get the first one in, I get a couple of winning returns... and then I start to slow down and the insecurities creep in. But I'm happy with what I can do in training. We're working hard: the serve is too important in tennis today. In particular, I try not to slow down the speed of the shot. It will be very difficult to repeat what Schiavone, Pennetta, Vinci, and Errani have done, but I don't think it's right to talk about it now and make comparisons. Maybe we'll talk about it in 10 years. Today, we can't know what will happen. Besides, I don't know how many people have seen me, Martina Trevisan, or Jessica Pieri play. Sometimes people jump to conclusions based only on results. Rankings and results are very important, of course, but there are other aspects too. If you have a good foundation, it's easier, but if you don't, it's more difficult to reach the top. But I think that sometimes people don't know our stories, our potential, or our difficulties. If you really want to draw conclusions, I think you should do so in 10 years' time. Today, it's impossible to know whether the other girls and I will make it. INTERVISTA - Jasmine Paolini ha cambiato marcia From an interview of Alessandro Nizegorodcew, Il Tennis Italiano, November 2021; published in tennisitaliano.it, 25 December 2021 For a tennis player, technical changes are often traumatic, because it's not easy to change shots that you already consider good. We players are usually quite stubborn... Interviewer: “What has been the most difficult moment in recent years?” Jasmine Paolini: Not qualifying for the Slams made me feel really bad. Finally, at Roland Garros in 2019, I got through the qualifying rounds [after nine failed attempts in various Majors, ed.] without losing a single set, and that broke the deadlock. Now I'm starting to win matches in the main draw, and it's a whole different story, but those years weren't easy. I arrived unconvinced, often without a coach, and I couldn't express myself at my best. In 2018 in Australia, I won three games in the first round of the qualifiers, and it was devastating. Interviewer: If you could give advice to Jasmine Paolini, who is entering the circuit at a very young age, what would you say to her? Jasmine Paolini: To have fewer doubts about myself. I think it's a very Italian flaw not to belittle yourself a little. Less doubt, more certainty. Interviewer: Life on the circuit can be exciting but also repetitive and tiring. How do you experience it? Jasmine Paolini: After years of playing mainly ITF, without hospitality and with very low prize money, I would describe life in WTA tournaments as peaceful. There is no anxiety about money, there are lots of points up for grabs, and everything is perfectly organized. Obviously, traveling all the time is not so easy, I have to learn to manage myself a little better: after New York, for example, I returned to Europe to play in Portoroz and then, without a break, I went back to the States to play in the Chicago tournament. I arrived exhausted and lost in the first round; looking back, I would opt for a different schedule or simply a week's rest. In summary: the professional circuit presents you with many challenges, sporting and otherwise, that are not easy to resolve; however, I consider myself privileged and never complain about this life. The more important matches I play, the more I understand this sport. There are no magic formulas. There is only hard work, perseverance, and determination. External links Category:1996 births Category:Living people Category:Tennis players from Italy Category:Women in sports Category:Women from Italy Category:Women born in the 1990s