Reaching a Grand Slam final is probably every kid’s dream when they pick up a tennis racket, but Jasmine Paolini never thought she’d make it this far. The 28-year-old Italian tennis player reached her first major final after a 2-0 (6:3 6:1) victory over Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva at Roland Garros.
“When I started playing tennis, I was just enjoying myself. I wasn’t dreaming too much”, said Jasmine Paolini. “I dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player, but I never imagined being number one, a Grand Slam champion. I never dreamed of something so big. Never. That’s not so positive, I think, because it’s important to dream, but appetite comes with eating, I think step by step”, added the Italian tennis player.
She doesn’t understand the dreams of other players who had big goals from a young age.
“It’s surprising to me to see interviews from Nole (Novak Djokovic) when he was a kid saying he wanted to be No. 1 in the world and Wimbledon champion. I was looking at that and I was like, ‘It’s unbelievable that you could dream of this as a kid. It’s unbelievable to see Jannik Sinner, when he’s only 15, say that his dream is to one day top the world rankings. Things are different with me. I never dreamed of being in the final of a Grand Slam tournament, but here I am”, said Jasmine Paolini.
The Italian will play for the trophy against world’s number one and three-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek in Saturday’s final, giving her a chance to use her Polish language skills as her mother is from Poland.
“I’m trying to speak Polish, but it’s not easy. I’m a bit shy because I don’t feel really confident in it”, said Jasmine Paolini. “But of course when I see her I say congratulations on the title she can win. She does the same. She congratulated me after Dubai”, added she.
Paolini will go into the final full of confidence, having also reached the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at Roland Garros.
“When you’re not confident, it’s a little more difficult in tennis because it’s a really intellectual sport”, added she.
