Great anticipation and trepidation in Bagni di Lucca for the double final at Roland Garros in Paris, which today will see Jasmine Paolini competing against the very strong Polish Iga Swlatek, number one in the world. But she doesn’t end there, as she will also be alongside Sara Errani for the doubles final. Today’s match will undoubtedly be difficult: Swlatek is the favourite, as she is the number 1 seed in the tournament, but Jasmine has already shown that she can fight against anyone. The spa town will stop in front of the televisions today as many fans will be following the final in Paris, at home or in meeting places in the country, where sporting events are usually celebrated.
In Ponte a Serraglio in particular, a hamlet in the municipality of Bagni di Lucca, where Jasmine grew up and lived in via Serraglia since she was a child, the big screen is being prepared at Bari Italia, which has become a point of reference for fans since the Dubai final. Jasmine’s family, father Ugo and mother Jaqueline, together with grandmother Ivonne, have managed the Cristallo bar (now closed) in Piazza di Ponte a Serraglio for years. And in the square, in that bar and also in the adjacent newsstand, Jasmine, together with her little brother William, lived her childhood with serenity. Everyone remembers her as a child, always with that smile printed on her face. You remember Giuliana Pieri very well, who ran the newsstand. “Jasmine often came here, she was curious, always smiling, that smile which is a character trait of her personality and of the successful sporting character she has built. You couldn’t help but love her. Today I hope she wins the final, but in any case she has already given so much joy.” Even Giuliana’s daughter, Azzurra Iacopi, now resident in Viareggio with her family, mother of two children, remembers Jasmine very well: “Among other things, we were also neighbors in Via Serraglia, so not a day went by that I didn’t meet her. I I was already a mature girl, and I remember well her sweet but very lively and friendly character. I followed her at the beginning when she started with tennis on the Mirafiume courts, it was incredible what she did.” “At Bar Italia – says the owner Annalisa Bianchini – we are all taken by the event, and we are waiting to see the final with emotion. Go Jasmine!!”
Marco Nicoli
