Paolini hopes to shine in Rome: "To succeed in Rome would mean a lot to me".

Jasmine Paolini is surprising the world in 2024. At the age of 28, she is enjoying the best season of her career, as evidenced by her title win in Dubai in February. Ahead of the Rome Masters 1000, where she will be the public's main hope in the women's category, Paolini spoke to our Punto de Break colleagues.

Solidly anchored in the world's top 15 since February (13th this week), Paolini is eagerly awaited. Asked about her new status, the Italian is determined to keep a cool head: "Winning a WTA 1000 hasn't changed my life. One of my goals has always been to go further in tournaments like this, so it's very positive to have a result like this to boost confidence in my game. [...] I'm aware that it's not something easy to achieve. I'm very proud to have reached such a high ranking, but sometimes I try to see things as if I were that little girl who started playing many years ago, the one who always dreamed of being the best Italian tennis player in the world. Today, everything is a little different."

The Italian No.1 also had the opportunity to return to the case of Jannik Sinner, the true standard-bearer of Italian tennis (world No.2 and winner of the Australian Open in January): "We (Italians) all push each other to be better every day, focusing on the figure of Jannik Sinner, who is the one who pushes the rest of us."

As for the Rome Masters 1000, the most important tournament of the season among those held on Italian soil, Paolini knows he is expected to shine at the Foro Italico: "It's obviously a very special tournament, different from the others. It's the most important tournament we have in Italy. Every season, there are a lot of expectations on the local players, which isn't easy either. I want to enjoy the public, all the people who will come to support us, and I hope I'll be lucky and enjoy it all on court."