Jasmine Paolini‘s French Open journey has been nothing short of a dream-like experience. The No. 1 Italian WTA player has stormed through all five contenders at Roland Garros to make a place in the final. As she prepares to face Iga Swiatek in her first grand slam final appearance, Paolini reflects on her childhood tennis dreams. Surprisingly, her revelation brought forth the stark contrast between her aspirations in tennis and those of the legend Novak Djokovic.

Jasmine Paolini is making waves in Paris as she has qualified for both the finals in the singles and the doubles categories. Before she gears up to navigate through the upcoming final challenge, the 28-year-old player sat down for a post-match interview on June 7. A video of that press conference was released on YouTube on the Tennis Actu TV Channel. During the first half of the interview, a journalist asked her, “What did you dream tennis would be for you or what would you be in tennis?”

The former World No. 12 responded, “When I started to play tennis I was just enjoying and I was not dreaming too much. Then I started to train like a professional tennis player. I was dreaming of becoming a professional and I never dreamed to be number one Grand Slam champion, never dreamed so big, never dream to be in the top 10.” Further adding to it, Jasmine Paolini said, “For me it’s surprising to see interviews from Nole as a kid saying that he wants to be the world number one and win matches at this. And I said it’s unbelievable that you can dream as a child you know.”

As pointed out by her, Novak Djokovic indeed once said in an interview, “I had the childhood dream when I was seven, eight. I wanted to become the best player in the world and win the Wimbledon trophy. That was the only thing I wanted.”

However, Paolini started her career at 15, when she moved to Tirrenia to train herself in tennis. After six years of that, she had her breakthrough back in 2017 when she won her first 100K title at the Open de Marseille. In the latter part of the same year, Paolini made her debut in the WTA Tour singles. Fast forward to 7 years later, in 2024, when she won her first WTA 1000 singles. But that is not it. The two singles title winner is now onto her next aim of winning her first grand slam in Paris. However, as she recalled her childhood, Paolini revealed how her dreams even back then were different from that of the 24 grand slam champion.

“When he was 15 years old say that he is dream was to be number one and for me its something different. I never dreamed to be I think in the Grand Slam final and I am here. I am so happy but it something different I am a different kind of person.” After achieving great feat Jasmine Paolini shed light on her main goal in the upcoming final match at Roland Garros.

Jasmine Paolini wants to “enjoy” her upcoming final match at Roland Garros

On one side, there is Jasmine Paolini, who is making her debut at Roland Garros. On the other side of the net, there is Iga Swiatek, the three-time Roland Garros champion who has already won four titles so far this season. Among the two times they have previously encountered on-court, the Polish tennis pro has emerged victorious. Therefore, the question that is on everyone’s mind is: who will win this time?

However, Paolini has her priorities set for the clash. After sharing her thoughts on World No. 1, the Italian tennis pro shared her goal for the upcoming match. “Iga is an unbelievable player. So young but so many achievements and Grand Slams. She is doing well week by week and that’s not easy. I have huge respect for her. My goal is to step on the court and try to enjoy the match the moment.”

As the final match draws near, excitement among fans has skyrocketed. However, whether she fulfills her dream of winning a Grand Slam or not, only time will tell.