Jasmine Paolini continues to dream despite consecutive Grand Slam final losses

“Dreaming is the most important thing in life,” said Jasmine Paolini after booking a place in the French Open final.

“Sometimes I’m a little bit scared to dream too much,” she said on Saturday, after the Wimbledon final.

Between June 6 and July 13, these 37 days, Paolini played two major finals back-to-back, a rarity in itself, and went down in both. Sport can be beautiful and cruel at the same time. If it saw Iga Swiatek add to her trophy cabinet in Paris and Barbora Krejcikova earn some much-deserved respect at the All England Club, it also had the Italian Paolini step up to take the runner-up trophy.

“Today I was dreaming to hold the trophy, but it didn’t go well,” she said. “I’m just enjoying the position where I am right now, five in the world. It’s unbelievable, honestly.

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“I just did two finals in two Grand Slams. I have to be also happy with the results. Also a little bit disappointed.”

Run to the French Open and Wimbledon finals, two very difficult and completely opposite surfaces, is a rarity. So rare that Paolini became just the fifth woman since 1999 and first since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach final of both in the same year after Steffi Graf (1999), Serena Williams (2002, 2015, 2016), Venus Williams (2002) and Justine Henin (2006). Only Venus, and now Paolini, had the misfortune of losing both.

Irrespective of the outcome, what Paolini has achieved this year is extraordinary. Here are some of the milestones she collected with a run to the Wimbledon final: first Italian woman to reach the final at SW19; first Italian to reach Grand Slam finals at two different venues;

The 28-year-old’s best result at a major before 2024 was the second round (thrice at Roland Garros and once at the US Open). At Wimbledon, thrice in a row she went out in qualifying and thrice in a row in the first round. Until now.

Sample these for large strides: Paolini hadn’t won on grass before this year; she has the most Grand Slam main draw wins in 2024 (15) and beat three top-50 players on her way to the Wimbledon final.

On the rankings chart, her improvement is clear. Having started the season at World No. 30, Paolini jumped to a career-high No. 5 on Monday, making her top-five debut. In the last four years she’s finished: 95th (2020), 53rd (2021), 59th (2022) and 30th (2023).

As Paolini looked to become the first player to secure the women’s singles title at Wimbledon without a previous main draw win, Barbora Krejcikova got in the way.

Yet, it shouldn’t take away from Paolini’s success and massive improvements this season. The Italian played, and won, Wimbledon’s longest semi-final and came from behind to push Krejcikova in the title clash.

All of five-foot-three, Paolini’s lack of height is made up by grit, heart and mental resilience. As she clenched her fist and yelled out ‘Forza’, the crowd would roar in approval and unision. If there is fierce stare at the opponent after a point won, there is also an expression of regret when shots landed wide or into the net. At the end of the matches, the Italian would burst into a beaming smile to win hearts.

In so many ways, Paolini reminds one of Ons Jabeur - likeable, polite and sadly, unfortunate with major final results. The Tunisian has been to two consecutive Wimbledon finals and lost both besides also making an appearance at the 2022 US Open title clash. In terms of playing style, too, both are not the most dominant hitters from the baseline but a clear plan and ability to play off the opponents help them.

As Paolini approaches the Paris Olympics, to be played at the site of Roland Garros, Paolini is not losing site of what’s most important to her.

“The message I would like to convey is to have fun, because that’s the most important thing. You must enjoy and have fun with what you do. It must be a true passion. But I also have another message,” she said in an interview to Vogue. Before adding, “One should never be afraid to dream.”