Sun May 18 15:30:00 UTC 2025: ## Paolini Makes History: Wins Italian Open Singles and Doubles Titles

**Rome, Italy -** Jasmine Paolini has etched her name into Italian tennis history, claiming both the singles and doubles titles at the Italian Open this weekend. In a stunning performance, Paolini defeated Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2 in Saturday’s singles final, becoming the first Italian woman to win the tournament in 40 years.

The victory marked the biggest win of the 29-year-old’s career. “It doesn’t seem real to me,” Paolini said, according to AP. “I came here as a kid to see this tournament but winning it and holding up this trophy wasn’t even in my dreams.”

With Italian President Sergio Mattarella watching from the stands, Paolini dominated the match, capitalizing on Gauff’s 55 unforced errors and seven double faults. Despite a brief comeback attempt from Gauff in the second set, Paolini remained composed, ultimately securing the win with a powerful serve.

Paolini’s triumph is even more remarkable considering she is the first Italian woman to win the tournament since Raffaella Reggi in 1985, and only the fourth overall since the tournament began in 1930.

But Paolini wasn’t done there. On Sunday, she teamed up with Sara Errani, the reigning Olympic champions, to win the women’s doubles final, defeating Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens 6-4, 7-5 after staging a comeback from 4-0 down twice in the match. Paolini became the first woman since Monica Seles in 1990 to win both the singles and doubles titles at the Italian Open, and the first player to do so in any WTA 1000 series tournament since Vera Zvonareva at Indian Wells in 2009.

The victory will propel Paolini to a career-high world ranking of No. 4 ahead of the French Open, which begins next Sunday.

While Gauff acknowledged Paolini’s strong performance, stating, “She played to win today and she deserved to win,” she also identified areas for improvement in her own game, particularly her serve.

The Italian crowd is now hoping that Jannik Sinner, currently ranked No. 1 in the world, can complete an Italian sweep of the Rome singles titles when he faces Carlos Alcaraz later on Sunday. The last Italian man to win the tournament was Adriano Panatta in 1976.

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