Jasmine Paolini First Italian to Wimbledon Final

It was a roller coaster ride that led Jasmine Paulini to play the final at Wimbledon, the first Italian to do so. At one point in the semifinal, the longest in the history of the women’s tournament at Wimbledon, Paolo Bertolucci, commentating, said that it seemed like a thriller. It really was. It took your breath away watching Jasmine Paolini win in the third set tie break against the Croatian Donna Vekic.

It was a climb for the Italian who lost the first setalmost without playing, and won the second and third fighting tooth and nail against an opponent who was superior in play, but not in determination, so much so that the Croatian came to tears. Tennis, as we know, is the devil’s sport: it ended 2-6 6-4 7-6 (8) in two hours and 51 minutes.

Jasmine herself said it at the end of the match: «She played very well. I kept repeating to myself: “Fight for every ball”. I told myself to try to improve on the court because I served really badly. But I’m happy, now I’m happy. I will always remember this match». It is difficult to forget her ability to never give up, the smile that slowly returned during the match, the cheering of all the stands for her.

The comparison is huge, but the last one to manage to reach the final in the same year in Paris and London was Serena Williamsto give the measure of Jasmine Paolini’s wonderful feat. She laughed when the speaker on center court reminded her. “I think this last month has been crazy for me: I still have to realize what’s happening to me. I focus on what I have to do on the court: I love playing tennis, for me it’s a dream to be here, to play in this stadium, because as a child I watched so many Wimbledon finals on TV. I’m having fun and thinking about the present, but the last month has been incredible for me». So incredible that the Italian from Garfagnana will play the first final on the Wimbledon grass by an Italian tennis player on Saturday, the second ever after Matteo Berrettini’s in 2021. The tournament’s Instagram account writes it well. This is Jasmine’s summer.