This article was originally published on 14 January 2023.
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Jasmine Paolini is refreshingly honest when discussing where she sees her improvement coming as a professional tennis player.
“I have to improve my serve, like percentage and also the spin. I cannot play flat because I'm 160 centimetres [tall],” she laughed.
“I have to be more precise, to improve the percentage. That's what we are working on.”
The Italian’s work to enhance her game is clearly paying off.
She was discussing the serve at Indian Wells last March, after beating world No.3 Aryna Sabalenka – her first win over a top-10 player. She advanced to the third round in the Californian desert that fortnight, coming extremely close to a spot in the last 16 before falling to Viktorija Golubic in a final-set tiebreak.
A month earlier, she had attained a career-high ranking of world No.44, at the relatively late-blooming age of 26.
A week after that she reached the last eight in Lyon – one of six WTA-level quarterfinals she would make in 2022.
Paolini, admirably, has sought to ensure no stone is left unturned in her quest to maximise her level.
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“I work a lot with … a guy who make video analysis. That I think was the key,” she revealed following her defeat of Sabalenka.
“Before, (in 2021), I didn't believe that I could play also on hard courts. So I was playing pretty well on clay courts, but I had difficulties on hard courts.
“Now I think I believe that I can play also here. More tournaments are on hard courts, I mean, instead of clay courts. I have more chances to do (ranking) points.
“That gave me confidence I think during the year.”
Video analysis was one element, and stroke production was another, with the Italian bolstering two fundamental tools in her game.
“I worked a lot on my forehand and on my serve. I think I can improve more because I'm trying to do every day,” she explained.
“It's not going to be easy, but c'mon, I'm here to do it [smiling].”
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Seven months after that interview, improvements were obvious as she stormed to the final of the Romanian WTA event in Cluj-Napoca
It was a tournament played on quick indoor hard courts, yet Paolini beat a succession of bigger, more powerful players – Marta Kostyuk, Dayana Yastremska, Jule Niemeier and Wang Xiyu – to arrive in just her second WTA final.
In a high-quality semifinal against Wang, Paolini’s extraordinary forehand power and dynamic athleticism captivated fans; the official highlights video attracted several overwhelmingly positive comments in response to her performance.
Paolini herself seemed to take plenty from that performance – she won her very next event, at an ITF 100K tournament in Spain.
For all the excitement surrounding the healthy state of Italian men’s tennis, the nation’s women are having a moment, too.
Led by 2022 Roland Garros semifinalist Martina Trevisan, an impactful player in Italy’s run to the recent United Cup final, there are five Italian women inside the top 100, with Paolini third among them.
Yet Paolini has perhaps even more potential to win fans beyond her country’s borders, given her cross-cultural appeal.
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The Tuscany native has Polish heritage and can speak the language – her maternal grandmother lives in Lodz – and she is of Ghanaian descent, also on her mother’s side.
Tennis players are often considered ‘citizens of the world’ and Paolini fits this descriptor better than most.
It will stand her in good stead as she traverses the global tennis circuit, building on a career that continued to trend impressively upward.