"Jannik Sinner brought light to us girls" - WTA 1000 Dubai champ Jasmine Paolini touches upon compatriot's impact on Italian tennis

Jasmine Paolini recently hailed her compatriot, Jannik Sinner, for his contribution to tennis in Italy.

Paolini was recently crowned the champion in Dubai, which is her biggest career title yet. She has won one other title on the WTA tour – the 2021 Slovenia Open. In Dubai, the Italian defeated tough opponents in Beatriz Haddad Maia, Leylah Fernandez, Maria Sakkari, Sorana Cirstea and Anna Kalinskaya en route to the title.

After clinching her maiden WTA 1000 trophy, Jasmine Paolini spoke to the media and touched upon the significant boom Italian tennis is currently witnessing.

"Behind my victory there is work that has been going on for years, but also the collective wave of these crazy months," she said, as per Corriere.it.

Italy has seen a few athletes make their mark on the tennis circuit over the years, including former Grand Slam champions Nicola Pietrangeli, Adriano Panatta, Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta.

In the past year, however, the country has enjoyed historic success in the sport. In 2023, Italy’s Billie Jean King Cup team reached their first final in ten years. Just weeks later, the male counterparts hoisted their first Davis Cup title in 47 years, with Jannik Sinner’s noteworthy contribution.

Sinner also revived the tennis culture in the country by enthralling his home crowd at the 2023 ATP Finals in Turin, where he lifted the runner-up trophy. The 22-year-old has since also won his maiden Grand Slam title at the 2024 Australian Open. He is the first Italian, man or woman, to do so in Melbourne.

In her recent interview, Jasmine Paolini praised Jannik Sinner for bringing glory to Italy and putting the country on the tennis map. She also shared how his success has had a positive impact on the women’s side of the game.

"Jannik brought tennis to TG1 [the longest-running newscast in Italy] and also brought light to us girls," she said.

"Before there wasn't the right visibility, not even when the generation of Pennetta, Schiavone, Vinci and Errani won heavy tournaments. It's a question of culture: not just Italian, but of the world. But today the air we breathe has changed," she added.

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Jannik Sinner and Jasmine Paolini reach career-high rankings

Jannik Sinner pictured at the ATP 500 in Rotterdam

Both Jannik Sinner and Jasmine Paolini are currently placed at career-high-ranking positions.

After his Australian Open victory, Sinner added yet another title to his growing resume, at the ATP 500 in Rotterdam. The latest triumph propelled him to a new career-best of World No. 3, making him the highest-ranked Italian tennis player in history.

Meanwhile, Jasmine Paolini, who was ranked World No. 26 during her stint at the Dubai Tennis Championships, has now broken into the world’s top 15 for the first time following her victory. The 28-year-old currently sits at the 14th position.