Jasmine Paolini admits reaching the Wimbledon final still feels surreal to her because she considered it once “a distant reality.”
After reaching her first Grand Slam final at the French Open and easily losing to Iga Swiatek, the 28-year-old proved it wasn’t a fluke by making another Major final at The Championships.
Unlike in the French Open final where she didn’t stand a chance, the Italian did much better and came a set away from winning the title. But unfortunately for Paolini, she fell just short after Barbora Krejcikova claimed a 6-2 2-6 6-4 win.
Before her 2024 Wimbledon run, the world No. 4 played at The All England Club six times – three times she failed to make it past qualifying and three times she lost in the first round.
Jasmine Paolini© Jasmine Paolini/Instagram – Fair Use
Paolini: Being a Wimbledon finalist still doesn’t seem real to me
“I was trying to realize where I was and the moment I was living because I honestly always watched the Wimbledon finals on television, it seemed like a very distant reality. When I was there, I tried to tell myself to realize what moment it was and to enjoy it fully. I had seen Serena, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Sharapova. Being there in person had a big effect on me. It still doesn’t seem too real to me, to be honest,” the Italian told Sky Sports Italia.
Paolini, who turns 29 in January, won her first WTA 500 title in Dubai earlier this year – made her first two Grand Slam finals – broke into the top-10 for the first time in her career – and also made her WTA Finals debut.
On a couple of occasions this year, she admitted that she didn’t expect to ever be in this position.
But now, Paolini is considered one of the best in the game and there will be attention on her in 2025.
Tennis World USA