Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani on Winning in Rome What They Admire Most About Each Other and More

So I start? It's Jasmine Paolini. I was born in Italy in 1996. I was born or... I was born. I was born. And I am Jasmine Paolini. My name is Sara Errani and I... My name is Sara Errani and I'm Jasmine Paolini. I was born in Italy in 1987. I was born in Italy in 1996. We are WTA tennis players. And this is behind the curtain. Good? Again? You cannot carry? And this is behind the curtain. They are so excited! They are so excited because they don't trust us. What and when was your first WTA match? I think my first match was in Rome. They gave me a wild card but I don't remember the year. A lot of time ago. And when was your first match? I think in Rome as well. I don't remember the year as well. But I played against Monica Niculescu in Stadio Pietrangeli. The most beautiful card. Who is the WTA player you admire the most? Easy! Sara! And yours? No, you! Miss you! No, I have to do it again. You have to ask me and yours. Who is the WTA player you admire the most? Easy! Sara! Because she is fighting on every ball. She had to lose and she stayed there until the last point. And you! No, you have to ask me and yours. You, of course, for your good energy. That was an easy question. We don't want to get in trouble with each other. What's your favourite surface to play on? I think clay. We have the best results on clay. What has been your proudest moment on court? I know that. For sure the gold medal. You know it. For sure it was my dream. And winning the medal was unbelievable. Yours? Many, but that was a really great moment. What's something only you know about your pre-match routine? I know it. Losing things around the club and trying to find them. No, that's not the pre-match routine. She loses things around the club. Every time I'm losing stuff, but it's okay. Check the anti-doping alarm, that it's off. If I play at night, I have to check it because I don't want to step on court and imagine the alarm sounds. And you? That you don't speak anymore before the matches. She stops speaking before the matches because she gets nervous. No, maybe I love to put the grip, over grip. Yeah, but everybody knows that. Grips, over grips. On the rackets, you know, you put the grips. But that's a normal thing. That's not a secret one. Tell us the feeling you feel... No. Tell us the feeling you... I'm going to do it. Describe the feeling. What's the feeling... No, I'll tell you. What's the feeling? Describe the feeling of standing in the tunnel waiting for your name to be called. I think it's a very exciting moment. You are a bit nervous, but you want also to step on court finally after the warm-up, after the pre-match routine. So, yeah, it's a balance between being nervous and being excited. Me, I'm more nervous than excited. Yes, for sure. I'm thinking about being focused because if not, she's going to say to me, you are not focused, you have to focus. And she's repeating to me the tactic and what we have to do on court. So I try to at least appear focused, you know. At least. Not being at least. No, it's true. I love tactics, so I try to talk a lot with her about what we need to do on the court. Yeah, these kind of things. Winning Rome in singles and doubles, of course, was an amazing feeling. I remember on Saturday I won my singles and I was so happy. My family was there. And the day after I stepped on court with Sara and it was a really tough match. I remember we were 4-0 down in the first and 4-0 down in the second set. But we won. And it was an amazing feeling. The stadium was really full of people cheering for us. And I have great memories, of course. Yeah, it was crazy. After last year, we won two years in a row. So it was crazy winning in Italy, in Rome. It's always very special. Yeah, the Italian moment now is crazy. We have a lot of players, in women, in men. Every tournament is full of Italian players, so it's great. Italy is so popular now. Of course, we are very happy about that. What's something you admire about myself? I have to ask. What's something you admire the most about myself? On the court, I think your power and your good energy. Of course, every time the crowd is for you. This is unbelievable for me. And on the court, you're very funny. You make me feel happy all day, so it's a very good thing. And you? Me, on the court? Of course, tactics. You are so smart on the court. So I know I have to listen to you. And on the court, that you don't lose stuff. And you are very precise. I don't know. She doesn't lose anything, never. Me, I'm a mess. So I would like to be like her, but I cannot, guys. When was the first time tennis made you cry? Maybe always. When I was like three, four, five years old, I was always crying when I was losing. You? Me, no. I wasn't crying when I was losing. I don't remember, but of course, after some tough losses, I cried a lot. No, I mean a lot, no. A little bit. But I'm not that person that cries after a loss. And when was the last time tennis made you cry? The last time. In Montreal. This year, I was... I don't know. I was crying because I was sad about my performance. It was a tough moment, but... I don't know. Somehow I... I passed that moment. You? I think in Paris. Last match in singles. Losing with match point. And it was my last match in singles, so there was a lot of emotion going there. It was a tough one. Who is the person who believes in you the most? I think my dad. From the beginning, when I started playing tennis, he was like, Jaz, you are playing amazing. Believe in yourself. To me... Yeah, my father, but also my coach Pablo, from the beginning, he was thinking that I could reach much more, and I was, no, what are you talking about? I don't think that, and it was like making me believe much more in myself. It's like... Who was the biggest doubter on your journey to this moment? Come on, we cannot say that here. Who was your biggest doubter on your journey to this moment? When I was young, not many people were believing in me because my kind of play was not that impressive. You cannot... But I think that fighting and keep fighting was making me reach results, and many people in Italy changed their mind a little bit. And do you? Yeah. I don't know, I feel the same, but maybe a little bit less than her. But to many people, I was too short to play tennis at the highest level, but I proved that I'm not. What's the biggest lesson that tennis has taught you? Well, I think the best one is that sometimes the worst or the tough moments are not there to stop you, but to prove that you care a lot about that. So I think many times in my mind, I think that the tough moments are not there to stop me, but just to let me prove that I want that thing so much. Do you? I'm not the same. To me, there are tough moments, but a week later, you can win a tournament or you can play really good. So you always have another chance and sometimes it's tough to go through the loss. But in tennis, everything can change in a match. So keep believing in the work, keep believing in yourself that the sun is coming back for sure. In one word, how would you describe women's tennis? Crazy. You? Powerful. That's good. I know that marketing loves this. Thank you.