'The hardest part is getting used to the wall': Roland Garros doubles champ Sara Errani to make professional padel debut

Just days after winning the Roland Garros doubles title with her regular partner Jasmine Paolini, Sara Errani is venturing into a new sport. The former doubles world No. 1 is experiencing great success in the category, having secured her 6th major title, her first with Paolini.

On Sunday, shortly before the Alcaraz and Sinner final, Errani and her compatriot Paolini faced Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic, clinching a three-set victory 6-4, 2-6, 6-1. The 38-year-old player had also won the mixed doubles title the day before with Andrea Vavassori, defeating Americans Taylor Townsend and Evan King.

Errani has had a remarkable couple of seasons in doubles, especially with Paolini, with whom she won the gold medal at Paris 2024 and now holds 8 joint titles – four of them WTA 1000s – including the Rome Open a couple of weeks ago. They are on an 11-match winning streak as a pair and lead the WTA Race.

However, Errani is making a shift in her professional career, embarking on her first adventure in professional padel. The Italian will participate in the BNL Italy Major, one of the four most important tournaments on the Padel circuit, after receiving an invitation. She will play with her compatriot Giulia Dal Pozzo, with whom she has already had her first training session in Rome.

Errani will try to maintain her winning streak, this time in padel, when she faces the Spanish pair Sandra Bellver and María Rodriguez this Tuesday in the first round. "The desire to win is always there, but I'm aware it will be difficult. I'm competitive in everything, and I'm curious to see the level of the best," the Italian commented at the Foro Italico.

The former singles world No. 9 explained that it's not unusual for her to switch from tennis to padel, a sport she says she practices regularly. "I'm quite used to it because when I'm home in Spain, I do it often; I train in the morning and play padel in the afternoon. Lately, I haven't played much padel because I've been very busy, although I always carried my padel racket in my bag."

"As for all tennis players, the hardest part is getting used to the wall. I'd also like to better understand when to play and when not to; I'm still not very expert, I don't always see the situations well."

"I'm very happy to be here. I had talked about it with Luigi Carraro, the president of the International Padel Federation. The Rome date was perfect, right after Paris and with no other commitments. When I found out I was getting a wildcard, I was very happy. I was telling everyone: I'm going to play. I'd like to play more tournaments. Plus, padel is great training for tennis too," she added.