Paolini and Errani clinch Italy’s maiden tennis Olympic gold in gripping final
The Italians beat Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider 2-6, 6-1, 10-7 to win Italy’s first Olympic gold medal in tennis
Jasmine Paoline and Sara Errani win gold at the Paris Olympics, 2024 © Imago / panoramic
Olympic medals are a bit like London buses. You wait a hundred years for one, then two come along at the same Olympic Games.
After Lorenzo Musetti’s bronze medal in the men’s singles, Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani have made yet more history for their country, becoming the first Italians to win an Olympic gold medal in tennis.
They fought back from a set down to beat Russian pair Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider – who were playing as Individual Neutral Athletes in this summer’s Games – 2-6, 6-1, 10-7 in an excellent women’s doubles final of real quality.
It was the AIN duo who started the brighter of the two teams, however, as the Italians endured a sluggish opening set. Paolini in particular looked tight as she racked up a significant tally of uncharacteristic unforced errors in the early stages of the match.
Andreeva and Shnaider, on the other hand, were sharp and clinical in all areas, efficiently killing off points at the net while serving well and looking rock-solid from the baseline. They broke in the fourth and eighth games of the set en route to winning a comfortable opener.
But there was a major shift in momentum with the start of a new set, as Paolini and Errani found their form and began to look every bit the potent doubles pairing they have been throughout these Games.
They broke immediately at the start of the second stanza, before striking again in the fifth game to move into a commanding 4-1 lead as Shnaider conceded serve with an expensive double-fault on break point.
A gutsy hold followed before the Italians broke for a third and final time in a lengthy seventh game to seal an emphatic second set.
The gold medal match therefore came down to a deciding match tiebreak – and it was gripping.
Using their momentum from the previous set, Paolini and Errani raced into a 2-0 lead only to be pegged back to 2-2 by their tenacious opponents. But the AIN team were always at least a point behind Italians from that moment on, as an extraordinary point at 7-5 epitomised the level this match had been played at.
That point proved a crucial juncture, as the Italians finally got over the line four points later, taking their first championship point to clinch an historic victory.
paolini and errani’s victory a fitting end to an excellent tournament
This match capped a superb ten days of competition, providing a very fitting finale to the tennis at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
It was a wonderful contest, and the Italian duet are arguably the most popular of all tennis’ medal winners this weekend.
For Errani, Olympic gold completes a doubles career golden slam, with the Italian also having won all four Grand Slams in this discipline. At 37 years old, this was almost definitely Errani’s last shot at achieving this rarest of feats.
Paolini, meanwhile, is well-loved wherever she goes. The 28-year-old has had an extraordinary season, bursting into life in the latter half of her career to win a maiden 1000-level title in Dubai before back-to-back finals at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon. Now, just to add icing on the cake, she is also an Olympic gold medallist.
After those painful final losses over the past two months, it feels more than fitting that Paolini closes this stretch of the season with victory in a major showpiece. And she does so alongside close friend and mentor, Errani.
A heartwarming end to a thoroughly enjoyable tournament.
