“It doesn't matter when you do it, just how you do it”: Maria Sakkari praises Paolini’s rise to top

Jasmine Paolini and Maria Sakkari joined Caroline Garcia for the live podcast Tennis Insiders, where Elena Rybakina was also a guest. One evening at a restaurant in Miami, the four tennis players had a live conversation with the audience, sharing their experiences on the WTA Tour.

The Italian world No. 6 received praise from her colleague Sakkari, as they reflected on her incredible 2024 season, in which she reached two Grand Slam finals and won her first WTA 1000 title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Paolini made a 'late' appearance on the front pages, considering she was 27 before breaking into the top 50.

"I never thought that in my life I would make two Grand Slam finals, you know," she shared during the podcast. "I'm really lucky because I lived those moments with a lot of joy, surprise, positive vibes, everything. But at the same time, I'm thinking about that, making the final, I mean, I didn't win."

"I'm trying to see the positive things, you know, and I'm also a person that it's tough for me to dream too big. You know, I'm scared about it a little bit, trying to focus on the present, on doing the things well, but not too much on the goal because I am afraid a little bit of doing this, honestly, because then if you don't achieve it, it's tough, you know?"

"Your history is incredible, I would say," Sakkari commented. "Like, it doesn't matter when you do it, it just matters that you do it and how you do it."

Sakkari also mentioned other colleagues who achieved great things at more advanced ages for the Tour, like the 2025 Australian Open champion. "It's like Maddy Keys this year. She admitted that she was putting a lot of pressure on herself to do it. And once she was okay with the idea of not achieving it, then boom, it came."

"It's like Danielle Collins last year, who said she was going to stop, and then she had the best season of her life and decided not to stop. So maybe we should say, 'It's going to be our last season,' and then maybe it’s going to be the best season of our lives."