FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 13, 2024 Italy's Jasmine Paolini with the runners-up trophy as she speaks to the media and crowd after losing the final against Czech Republic's Barbora Krejcikova REUTERS/Hannah Mckay/File Photo
PARIS (Reuters) - Italian Jasmine Paolini's breakout year could be about to get even better as she prepares for the Paris Olympics with strong medal prospects in singles and doubles and the chance to grab a selfie with French Open king Rafa Nadal.
The 28-year-old Tuscan returns to Roland Garros just weeks after reaching the French Open final -- a feat she repeated at Wimbledon where she also ended as runner-up.
Those stunning runs have elevated Paolini to fifth in the WTA rankings and she will be one of the players expected to have a deep run in her second Olympics where she is seed fourth.
"It feels strange to return here after so little time, it feels a little different," Paolini told reporters.
"The balls are different, maybe the courts are a little different, too, the weather.
"But it is always a beautiful place to play tennis."
Paolini will be busy on Saturday as she plays Ana Bogdan of Romania in the singles and will also team up with veteran Sara Errani in the doubles against dangerous New Zealand pairing Erin Routliffe, the world number one, and Lulu Sun.
If she gets time she will also be on the lookout for 14-time French Open winner Nadal for that souvenir snap.
"My goal for these Olympics is to ask Rafa for a selfie," she joked. "I have one with Roger (Federer) and one with Novak (Djokovic) from the previous Olympics, so my goal is to ask for one with Rafa.
"I feel a little embarrassed, but I will try to do it. If you see one on Instagram, it means I did it."
Italy were dealt a blow with the withdrawal of men's top seed Jannik Sinner because of illness.
But in Paolini they have a real medal shout and not just in the singles. Her doubles partnership with former French Open runner-up and five-time Grand Slam doubles champion Errani looks especially potent and they are seeded three.
Together they reached the French Open final in June.
"Every tournament is different. Once you start a new event, you don't think about what has been, though for sure it may give you some confidence knowing that it is a place where you know you can play well," Errani said.
Errani, 37, was handed an added bonus on Friday when she was given a spot in the singles as an alternate after Australia's Daria Saville, herself an alternate, was forced out with injury.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
