Jasmine Paolini, 29, admits her newfound fame is "nice" but also strange" as the world No. 8 acknowledges she needed some time to adjust to her new status.
Entering the 2024 season, Paolini had two titles in her collection but had never been ranked inside the top-20. Also, the Italian didn't have any notable results at the Grand Slam or the WTA 1000 level. Then, boom happened – she became a WTA 1000 champion in 2024 February after winning Dubai and broke into the top-20 for the first time in her career.
Soon, it became even better for Paolini after she made back-to-back Grand Slam finals at the French Open and Wimbledon and became a top-5 member. Also, she became an Olympic champion after winning gold medal in the Paris Olympics women's doubles event with Sara Errani.
The Italian, who will celebrate her 30th birthday in January, may be a late bloomer but she is also now regarded as one of the best in the game.
Paolini asked when she realized she was famous
"I think after the gold medal in the Olympics last year. Then the Wimbledon final as well. After those two, something changed. I get more recognized. It’s nice, but it is strange as well. After the gold medal, it was something different. People were watching this on the TV and everyone was recognizing me after that. In the Grand Slams, people who are not always watching tennis are looking at these events and then the Olympics, well that is something else," the 29-year-old answered.
Unfortunately for Paolini, she twice fell just short of becoming a Grand Slam champion last year after losing to Iga Swiatek in the French Open final and Barbora Krejcikova in the Wimbledon title match, respectively.
But this year, the Italian tennis star enjoyed a very special moment after winning the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome in front of her home fans.
Currently, Paolini is competing in Ningbo, where she reached the semifinal after beating Belinda Bencic.
