Italian tennis stars Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini delivered a thrilling performance to win the women’s doubles final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Sunday. The defending champions defeated Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens 6-4, 7-5 in a hard-fought match that lasted 1 hour and 45 minutes.
The scoreline may suggest a smooth win, but the match was anything but easy. The No. 3 seeded Italians had to battle back from 4-0 deficits in both sets. With determination and teamwork, they pulled off back-to-back comebacks to secure their second consecutive Rome doubles title.
“It was an incredible atmosphere,” said former doubles world No. 1 Sara Errani. “The stadium was full. It was a tough match. They play so well, so strong.”
Paolini’s performance capped off a dream weekend. Just a day earlier, she became the first Italian woman in 40 years to win the Rome singles title. Now, with the doubles trophy in hand, Paolini has achieved a rare feat — winning both singles and doubles titles at the same WTA 1000 tournament. The last player to do so was Vera Zvonareva at Indian Wells in 2009.
“It’s amazing,” said Paolini. “It’s been two incredible weeks. I don’t know what to say. It’s just perfect.”
The victory also places Errani and Paolini in elite company. They are the first pair to win back-to-back Rome doubles titles since Ashleigh Barty accomplished the feat in 2018 and 2019. This is Errani’s third Rome doubles win overall, having first claimed the title in 2012 alongside Roberta Vinci.
Their opponents, Kudermetova and Mertens, showed strong form as well. The duo recently reunited after a long break, and were finalists in Madrid earlier this month. They started strong in Rome, taking a 4-0 lead in both sets, but could not stop the Italians’ momentum.
In the first set, the Italian team won six straight games to turn the match around. Errani came up big during crucial moments, winning multiple deciding points with sharp play at the net.
With this victory, Errani and Paolini proved once again that they are a dominant force in doubles — and crowd favorites on home soil.
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