Tuscan-born tennis player Jasmine Paolini, 28, smashed a glass ceiling with her teammate Sara Errani, 37, when the duo took home the Olympic gold medal in women’s doubles in the final week of the Paris games. It was the first ever Olympic tennis gold for Italy — and the first medal of any color for Italian women’s tennis.
Coming from behind in a “super tiebreak,” the Paolini-Errani duo roared back against Russians Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider to claim victory.
Errani, the most decorated female Italian player in history, achieved a milestone in Paris with a career “Golden Slam,” a term for when a player wins all four major tournaments plus an Olympic title — a doubles title, in her case. Now Errani is passing the torch to Paolini, who at 28 has been around the block but is seeing her star on the rise. Nicknamed the “pocket rocket” by the international press — for her speed, spunkiness and surprising 5ft 3in (160cm) height — Paolini has an infectious affability that’s hard to come by in the cutthroat world of tennis (just ask Novack Djokovic).
But who is Italy’s “pocket rocket” and what’s next on the horizon for her? Below, we take a look.
A Tuscan tennis star in the making
Born on January 4, 1996 in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana to a Polish mother (Jacqueline) and Italian father (Ugo), Paolini was raised with her younger brother William between the small Tuscan town of Bagni di Lucca — where her father ran a bar — and her mother’s hometown of Łódź, where Paolini learned to speak Polish. A proud third-culture kid, she has Ghanaian roots on her mother’s side.
Paolini’s uncle Adriano, himself a former player, was the first to have recognized her early talent for tennis, according to Il Messaggero. At age 15, she decided to take the game seriously, and entered the federal college of Tirrenia in the province of Pisa, facing and moving past detractors who said she was too short for tennis.
Today, Paolini credits much of her success to her family, along with her coaching team, led by Renzo Furlan, giving both frequent shoutouts in post-match interviews.
Paolini before Paris
Paolini’s triumph in Paris (after being knocked out of the singles competition in the third round) is the icing on the cake after an exceptional 2024 season. Here were some of her high points and firsts.
- Paolini became the first Italian woman to reach the singles finals at Wimbledon and responded good-naturedly to a defeat by Czech Barbora Krejcikova: “To be here right now, it’s crazy. I enjoyed every moment here. It’s been a beautiful two weeks and I want to thank everybody who made this tournament possible,” Paolini said in an on-court interview before a star-studded crowd of celebrities and dignitaries.
- Paolini became only the fifth player since 1999 to reach Grand Slam finalist status at both Wimbledon and Roland-Garros in the same season. Paolini shares this distinction with Steffi Graf, Justine Henin, and Serena and Venus Williams, icons of the game.
- Paolini’s performances at Wimbledon, the French and Austrian opens, and her win at the WTA 1,000in Dubai — another first of her career — helped catapult her to a current ranking of fifth worldwide.
What’s next for Jasmine Paolini?
Paolini’s fairytale season isn’t quite over yet. She’s expected to play in the upcoming US Open 2024 in late August — the last of the year’s four major tournaments.
While the outcome is still uncertain, it’s worth remembering how quickly Paolini’s stock has risen: Called a “late-blooming Italian, along the lines of [former players] Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta” by The New York Times, Paolini just over a year ago was toggling between 50 and 80 in the rankings, a steady player but not yet a star. In a July interview with Vogue, post-Wimbledon, Paolini confirmed that her work with Furlan, who began coaching her full-time in 2020, was a turning point for her confidence. If Paolini’s pattern continues, more surprises are surely up her sleeve.
