And Castelnuovo Garfagnana a Dubaipassing through Melbourne e Portorose. It was a long, complex, complicated journey, in which self-denial and sacrifice prevailed over disappointments and bitterness. This is the parable of Jasmine Paolinithe new champion of the prestigious WTA 1000 Of Dubai. The first 1000 title, the second overall of his entire career. The comeback success over the Russian Anna Kalinskaya 4-6 7-5 7-5 allows Paolini to enter the top 15, exactly at position 14 in the world, and to put Italian women’s tennis back in the spotlight.
In fact, if the men’s racket (among Davis Cup e Jannik Sinner champion garlic Australian Open) is now at the top of world tennis, the women’s movement has been suffering from the end of the era of Roberta Vinci, Sara Errani, Flavia Pennetta e Francesca Schiavone. Apart from a couple of exploits at Roland Garros Martina Trevisan and the impromptu success of Camila Giorgi at the WTA 1000 in Montreal in 2021, the satisfactions were scant, the disappointments many, the absence of a noisy, captivating personality. But because this title by Jasmine Paolini can give rise to hope for a A new start for women’s blue tennis? Because it should be different compared to the results listed above by Trevisan or Giorgi? Simple, because it’s not random.
The forehand with which Kalinskaya gave Paolini this success represents the pinnacle of a path started a long time ago, and has never stopped. A growth that suddenly accelerated last summer, with a series of results on the North American cement who had foreshadowed that behind that girl of 163 centimetres there could be something more, in tennis but above all in personality . Everything was then confirmed during the last one Billie Jean King Cupwhere Jasmine took on the role of driving force blue until the final. In short, Dubai takes on the appearance of an almost natural transition, consistent with what has been built up to this point under the direction of Renzo Furlan. All he was missing was a title. This exploit a new chapter in Paolini’s sporting life now opens, and it could be great inspiration also for the other blue ones, primarily for Elisabetta Cocciaretto e Lucia Bronzetti. The objective is now bigger: to confirm ourselves at this level and, perhaps, why not, try to raise it further. In the end the top 10 is “only” away 800 points. The red earth, which has always been a friendly surface for the Garfagnana area, will be able to give him a hand in just over a month.
Who is Jasmine Paolini? – Born in Castelnuovo Garfagnana on 4 January 1996, Jasmine Paolini began training on the courts of the Tennis Club of Mirafiume, before understanding that tennis cannot remain a simple hobby, but must become something more. Renzo Furlan, a well-known face of Italian tennis, a former professional who retired in 2004 with a best ranking of n.19 ATP, takes her under his wing, and following her Jasmine divides her time between the federal center of Tirrenia and Forte dei Marmi . At the age of 15 yearsin 2011, came the debut in ITF circuit. In the 2013 the first finals arrive. In Rome she loses against Martina Caregaro, while a Locrithe following month, she beat the French Suvrijn in the final and triumphed for the first time in 17 years.
Growth continues without interruptions, with constancy and self-denial. In 2016 he returned to win Anyway e Valencia in the ITF circuit, but the first turning point in his career came the following year with his first call-up to sky blue for the first round with the Slovakia in Fed Cup. She takes to the court in doubles alongside Martina Trevisan, but they are already certain of elimination. An experience that gives Paolini great confidence. The path is the right one, and in fact a Marseille comes a major title in a tournament from $100,000. It’s now close to top 100. The first victory in a WTA draw arrived in 2018, when a Bogotà she beat the qualified Lizette Cabrera, then lost in the next round to Emiliana Arango.
In Italy people are starting to talk about her as a possible new rising star in women’s tennis. She has a lot of confidence, but it’s not enough in the Majors, where she continues to toil, being eliminated in the qualifying rounds. The taboo was broken in 2019, when al Roland Garros arrives in the main draw for the first time. At the end of the season he finally enters the top 100, as Italian number 1and now the Australian Open I’m a certainty. It’s the 2020 edition and he immediately loses to Blinkova. The improvements, however, are more and more evident, and so, again at Roland Garros, the first victory in a Slam arrives, against the Spanish Bolsova 6-4 6-3.
Step by step, Paolini raises the level again, he doesn’t give up, insists. ha gi 25 years old but also none rush. And in the end, sacrifices pay off. The first WTA title arrives on 19 September 2021: 7-6 6-2 to Alison Riske in Portorose. However, expectations for 2022 are dashed. The season is in fact a year anomalousopposite to the following one, because 2023 is the year of consecration. And she becomes one in her second part. Thanks to the quarterfinals and the round of 16 in the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati and Beijing, Jasmine climbs the rankings again, reaching the number 31 of the world. A positive trend that mixes with the bitter taste in the mouth. He drags the Italian national team to the final of Billie Jean King Cup but loses to the Canada.
However, the inertia is now the right one and the results can be seen immediately at the beginning of 2024. Melbourne Paolini takes advantage of the seeding, benefits from some excellent eliminations and flies to the championships for the first time round of 16 of the Australian Open. He had never previously reached the second round of a Slam. The defeat against Anna Kalinskaya it leaves more certainties than disappointments. The feeling of having now reached a different level, both mentally and technically. Maybe you already imagine that soon he will have his revengein Dubai, 11,670 kilometers further west.