First Ball Forehand

Jasmine Paolini reveals her goal for the WTA Finals

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In the media day of the WTA Finals in Riyadh, the 28-year-old Italian Jasmine Paolini talked about her emotions upon arrival in Saudi Arabia, speaking about the importance of the singles and doubles tournament for her sporting growth. The French Open and Wimbledon finalist Parola revealed how her goal is to have fun and do the best she can. Jasmine, after a dream season, has deservedly earned a place for the Wta Finals in Riyadh, which will start today, Saturday 2 November. The Italian tennis player will compete in both singles and doubles, paired with Sara Errani, dreaming of a result that would be the crowning of an unforgettable year for her.

“I will try to play matches with the best players in the world and have fun, because if I have fun I play better. It’s an extraordinary competition, it’s a privilege to be here. I’m happy to compete in singles and doubles. Sara Errani helps me a lot, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that these results came all at the same time. I started playing doubles every week and I also improved in singles. I think Sara helps me a lot. I ask her a lot of questions. She’s a different type of player than me, I’m also trying to steal something from her tennis, from her way of understanding the game. She’s more tactical than me on the court. Playing doubles with her I think has helped me understand the game better. Physically it’s not easy to play singles and doubles in every tournament, but for me there are only positive elements. If someone had told me at the beginning that I would play the WTA Finals in singles and doubles it would have been crazy. Of course, at least in doubles, I remember that in our first tournament, the Australian Open, we lost a very tight match against Hsieh and Mertens and I thought: But, we play well, we could qualify for the WTA Finals. But I didn’t tell anyone. In singles, qualifying became a goal after the Wimbledon final,” she explained.

Today Paolini will play her first career match at the WTA Finals, challenging Elena Rybakina. About the match that awaits her, she said: “The court is fast but not too much, also because of the altitude. The balls go fast, when you give them rotation and spin they jump high. Against Rybakina it will be essential to return her serve, here in particular. I really don’t know what to expect. It will be a tough match, I will have to play deep and serve well, because she will clearly play aggressive tennis. The best thing will be to try to return as much as possible and as deep as possible and cover the court quickly.”

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