🎾 Jasmine Paolini vs Elena Rybakina
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The season made by Jasmine Paolini has been one of the great positive surprises in the world of tennis, but the Italian wants to take advantage of her great state of form and confidence to become the first woman of the century to win the WTA Finals both in singles and doubles in the same edition. Only three other women have ever done so in history.
Sweet and candid off the track, lethal on it. Jasmine Paolini She has exceeded any expectations I would have placed on her with a perfect mix of aggression, consistency, leg speed and mental toughness. In a world of giant punchers, this petite Italian tennis player has known how to maximize her virtues and hide her defects, getting into the heads of her rivals with her tactical intelligence and a prodigious hand. Having played doubles frequently has made him improve a lot in the rest, mid-court play and reaction speed.
– Only three women in history have been singles and doubles champions in the same edition of the WTA Finals
Proof of his splendid year is that he has gotten into the WTA Finals 2024 both in singles and doubles, forming a pair with Sara Errani. This is not common at all, even among women, where recently, tennis players like Gauff, Krejcikova, Pegula, Ostapenko and Mertens have shown that both disciplines can be successfully combined. However, no one has managed to become a Master in the same edition, both in singles and doubles, for more than 20 years.
And to find examples of tennis players who achieved what they set out to do Jasmine Paolini in Riyadh next week, we must go back to the 20th century. The first to achieve this was one of the great icons in the history of tennis, who stood out for her ability to combine singles and doubles, being one of the best in both modalities: Martina Navratilova. The Czech nationalized American did the double in 1978, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1986, forming a pair with Billie-Jean King (in 1978 and 1981) and with Pam Shriver (in later editions).
– Paolini starts as fourth seed in both modalities
The next case would not occur until 1997, when the Czech Jana Novotn She gave the surprise by becoming champion of the individual tournament, when she still did not have any Grand Slam title on her record. That year she formed a fearsome doubles partnership with Lindsay Davenport, who won the doubles tournament. Later, in the year 2000, Martina Hingis She would form a media couple with Anna Kournikova, conquering the title with solvency, while she was able to defeat Seles in the individual grand final, in an episode of their intimate, brief and intense rivalry.
Although it is true that Jasmine Paolini does not start as one of the main favorites in either the individual or doubles tournament, it cannot be ruled out that she will take advantage of her current great confidence to explore the limits and make some splash. In the doubles, they should beat Chan-Kudermetova and fight with Dolehide-Krawczyk and Dabrowski-Routliffe for one of the two places in the semifinals. In singles, she will have the challenge of emerging unscathed from a group with Sabalenka, Rybakina and Zheng. In short, a very exciting panorama is presented to the Italian in these WTA Finals 2024.
