Jasmine Paolini's Grand Slam dream is as close as ever.
The 28-year-old Italian surprised everyone by making her first major final five weeks ago at Roland Garros. She was overwhelmed in the final by World No.1 Iga Swiatek, winning just three games.
Paolini stunning transition to grass was a surprise to herself. She had never won a match at Wimbledon before stringing together six to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 to make back-to-back finals in Paris and SW19. She dropped the first set 6-2 and a Roland Garros redux looked to be in the cards.
But this time Paolini dug deep and fought back. She stayed positive. And she battled back against the loss until the final point.
"I have to accept today and to try to work hard," Paolini said after the match. "I'm sure I'm going to do it, but today it's tough to speak 'cause I was close but not enough.
"She was playing, honestly, very good the first set. She was serving really, really good. High percentage of first serves. Was tough.
"But, yeah, I think I did better than the last final, but still not enough."
Paolini will make her Top 5 debut on the PIF WTA Rankings after Wimbledon, becoming the highest-ranked Italian woman since Francesca Schiavone, who reached World No.4 in 2011. The late-bloomer from Tuscany will need some time to process her history-making two-month run, where she became the first Italian woman to make the final of two different Grand Slams, let alone in the same year.
"I have still to realize that I did final in Wimbledon," Paolini said. "It's an amazing thing. Of course, now I'm a little bit disappointed.
"It's been an incredible year. I'm enjoying. I hope to continue like that with this level of tennis. I'm going to try to work to keep this focus, this level."
Paolini won't have long before she returns to the crucible of competition. Given her recent form, she'll be a shortlist favorite to win a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, which will be played at Roland Garros. Then comes the North American hard-court summer, a surface where she's primed to excel after winning her biggest title on Dubai's hard courts in February.
"I'm going back, trying to practice, to stay in the present, as I said many times," Paolini said. "This is the goal for me, my team, to try to keep this level as much as possible.
"If I keep this level, I think I can have the chance to do great things. But if I'm not keeping this level, it's not coming anything good."
There's also the matter of the WTA Finals in Riyadh at the end of the season. Paolini will surge to No.3 on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals on Monday, sitting behind No.1 Swiatek and No.2 Elena Rybakina. Needless to say, after a season that has seen her win a WTA 1000 and make two Grand Slam finals, Paolini is in good position to seal a season-ending debut.
Still, the down-to-earth Italian is keen to keep her blinders and focus on the next step in front of her. It's worked incredibly well so far.
"I don't know what to dream right now," Paolini said. "Today I was dreaming to hold the trophy, but didn't went well.
"I'm just enjoying the position where I am right now, No.5 in the world. It's unbelievable, honestly. I just did two finals in two Grand Slams. I have to be also happy with the results."
