LONDON – If the brilliance of a radiant smile influenced Grand Slam victories, Italian Jasmine Paolini would likely secure one before retiring from tennis.
The petite 28-year-old from Tuscany delighted the Wimbledon Centre Court audience during Saturday’s women’s final, just as she had done throughout an unforgettable fortnight on the grass courts.
Despite a valiant effort, Paolini narrowly missed becoming Italy’s first Wimbledon singles champion, losing 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to fellow 28-year-old Barbora Krejcikova.
Whether she views recent events from an optimistic or pessimistic perspective, Paolini, who tends to see the glass as half full, can reflect positively on the past months, despite falling short in two consecutive Grand Slam finals.
By defeating Croatia’s Donna Vekic on Thursday, Paolini became the first Italian woman to reach the Wimbledon singles final and joined a distinguished group of women who have competed in both the Roland Garros and Wimbledon title matches in the same season.
Tennis legends like Serena Williams, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, Margaret Court, and Evonne Goolagong have won both titles, while others like Venus Williams, Justine Henin, and Hana Mandlikova claimed only the French Open.
Paolini’s achievement is remarkable considering she had only three Roland Garros match victories and none at Wimbledon before this year.
Even without a Grand Slam title, Paolini has garnered thousands of new fans charmed by her joy, passion, and fun demeanor on the court.
While this provides some consolation after Saturday’s near miss, Paolini is determined to be remembered not just as the runner-up to world number one Iga Swiatek and now Krejcikova.
“Sometimes I’m a little bit scared to dream too much,” Paolini, 28, told reporters. “I’m going back, trying to practice, to stay in the present. This is the goal for me, my team, to try to keep this level as much as possible.
“If I keep this level, I think I can have the chance to do great things. But if not, it’s not going to be good. Today I was dreaming of holding the trophy, but it didn’t work out.
“I’m sure I’m going to do it, but today it’s tough to speak because I was close but not close enough.”
Paolini, seeded seventh at Wimbledon, will ascend to number five in the WTA rankings on Monday.