While most tennis talk has been of Iga Świątek’s relentless march to the final of the French Open, her rival tomorrow, Jasmine Paolini, will lend another Polish accent to Saturday’s showpiece event.
Though born and raised in Italy, Paolini also has Polish blood coursing through her veins, courtesy of a mother of Polish-Ghanaian descent. Her maternal grandmother, meanwhile, continues to live in Łódź.
“I try to speak in Polish, but it’s not easy,” Paolini told reporters earlier this year. “I’m a little bit shy because I don’t feel confident in it [the Polish language], but when I see her [Iga Świątek], I say congratulations for the titles she’s won, and she does the same.”
Sealing a dramatic comeback to win the Dubai Open in February, Paolini found herself tweeted by Świątek, who congratulated her on victory.
Treated with quaint curiosity by the Polish press, her family roots have been the subject of repeated questions. “When I was young, my mother spoke to me in Polish,” said Paolini, “so now I can speak it, but I also forget some words… my brain is mixed a lot!”
Charming everyone with her infectious enthusiasm, Paolini has also won hearts with her exciting brand of tennis. Success, however, has come late. Turning pro in 2011, it wasn’t until this year’s Australian Open that she advanced beyond the second round of a major.
The odds seem stacked against her; firmly established as the World’s No. 1, Świątek will be looking to add a fourth French crown to her ever-growing trophy cabinet. Her form has been sublime. Having clawed back from the jaws of defeat in the Second Round, Świątek hasn’t looked back since her classic encounter with Naomi Osaka; her opponents haven’t so much been defeated as obliterated.
With Świątek boasting a 34-2 record at Roland Garros and towering five inches over Paolini, the form book suggests a comfortable win for the 23-year-old Pole.
Świątek, though, is taking nothing for granted: “We played a long time ago,” she said, “so I need to prepare tactically and see where her game is at now, because for sure she’s playing—she has [had] the best season, so she must have changed something.”
Paolini, on the other hand, goes into the match of her life with nothing to lose. “My goal is to step on court Saturday and try to enjoy the match and to enjoy that moment and to try to play a good match and to make a good performance on court,” she said.
How the game will end remains to be seen, but how it begins is already known. “Maybe you’ll say cześć to her at the start,” asked one Polish reporter. “Yeah,” smiled Paolini, “I’m going to say that.”
“I try to speak in Polish, but it’s not easy,” Paolini told reporters earlier this year. “I’m a little bit shy because I don’t feel confident in it [the Polish language], but when I see her [Iga Świątek], I say congratulations for the titles she’s won, and she does the same.”
Sealing a dramatic comeback to win the Dubai Open in February, Paolini found herself tweeted by Świątek, who congratulated her on victory.
Treated with quaint curiosity by the Polish press, her family roots have been the subject of repeated questions. “When I was young, my mother spoke to me in Polish,” said Paolini, “so now I can speak it, but I also forget some words… my brain is mixed a lot!”
Paolini also recalled childhood trips to Łódź with fondness. “I have a lot of memories, but of regular things,” she said. “I remember when I would visit Poland, my grandmother would cook whatever I liked. In Italy it was only pasta, pasta, pasta, but in Poland we always ate something different!”JASMINE PAOLINI MÓWI PO POLSKU 🇵🇱 🔥
— Eurosport Polska (@Eurosport_PL) June 6, 2024
To trzeba zobaczyć. I przesłuchać 🔊
🍝 "Pasta, pasta, pasta" #RG24 #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/eftDbP5hbb
Charming everyone with her infectious enthusiasm, Paolini has also won hearts with her exciting brand of tennis. Success, however, has come late. Turning pro in 2011, it wasn’t until this year’s Australian Open that she advanced beyond the second round of a major.
Now, though, the 28-year-old stands on the verge of history, having blasted her way to her first Grand Slam final.Poland Garros - tak po polsku mówi sobotnia rywalka w finale Igi Świątek, reprezentująca Włochy Jasmine Paolini :) pic.twitter.com/xCAvY7G1IH
— Mateusz Babiarz (@matbabiarz) June 6, 2024
The odds seem stacked against her; firmly established as the World’s No. 1, Świątek will be looking to add a fourth French crown to her ever-growing trophy cabinet. Her form has been sublime. Having clawed back from the jaws of defeat in the Second Round, Świątek hasn’t looked back since her classic encounter with Naomi Osaka; her opponents haven’t so much been defeated as obliterated.
With Świątek boasting a 34-2 record at Roland Garros and towering five inches over Paolini, the form book suggests a comfortable win for the 23-year-old Pole.
Świątek, though, is taking nothing for granted: “We played a long time ago,” she said, “so I need to prepare tactically and see where her game is at now, because for sure she’s playing—she has [had] the best season, so she must have changed something.”
Paolini, on the other hand, goes into the match of her life with nothing to lose. “My goal is to step on court Saturday and try to enjoy the match and to enjoy that moment and to try to play a good match and to make a good performance on court,” she said.
How the game will end remains to be seen, but how it begins is already known. “Maybe you’ll say cześć to her at the start,” asked one Polish reporter. “Yeah,” smiled Paolini, “I’m going to say that.”
Source: Eurosport Polska / tennis.com
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