«There was a time when it was difficult to get through the first rounds, today it is a golden moment for Italian tennis». Renzo Furlan from Coneglianoor rather from Codognè, he was the number one in Italian tennis for a long time (the 15 April 1996, he was number 19 ATP and was 26 years old) and today, as coach, he sits on the bench by Jasmine Paolinirecent double finalist in singles and doubles at the French Open, that Roland Garros which as a coach he had already won with Francesca Schiavone in 2010.
Furlan, more disappointment or more satisfaction after the clay season? Two finals and two defeats could perhaps leave their mark…
«Reaching the final of a Slam tournament can only be good, we are justly happy, even if now we set ourselves another objective, which is to be even more competitive against players as strong as Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka.”
All Valkyries over 1.75m, with which Jas however held up very well, even on the fast track. How can you overcome the physical gap?
«You always have to become the best version of yourself, there is always an aspect to improve even from a psychological point of view, break down a barrier and get to the next level. We realize that Swiatek is the undisputed number one, who has not lost in 19 games in a row in 2024 and 21 in Paris. She is an extraordinary power but today Jasmine is number 7 in the world and we still don’t know how much room for improvement she has, I’m here to find out with her.”
With Schiavone he had already won Paris on the bench…
«With Francesca, however, my work was completely different, she was already 30 years old when I started working with her and in that case my task was only to bring order to her very varied game full of solutions. We gave her some patterns in which she found trust and continuity and she won. With Jasmine we are talking about a completely different relationship.”
Can you tell us about it? How did it start?
«I met her when she was 19, so we’ve been together for almost 8 years now. She was number 580 in the world and had frightening potential. He shot very hard, a bit like Camila Giorgi, but he only went lateral and moved very well. But a dimension had to be added to that tennis, namely the forward movements and the counterattack, which we did by working on volleys and everything else. Today, for being only 1.60m tall, she has a very good serve and a very varied game, but as I said we can still improve. Although this year you achieved incredible results by winning in Dubai on the fast track, beating Fernandez and Sakkari.”
Jasmine conquered everyone with her smiles, her palpable happiness. She said that she found it difficult to dream of being in the final in Paris. Is she like this too in training?
«It’s exactly like that, he lives the life he always wanted to live, that of a professional athlete, it doesn’t bother him to train, it doesn’t bother him to travel. We spent up to eight weeks away from home and she never complained, on the contrary. She is cheerful, polite, spontaneous, I have never seen her throw a racket or give in to frustration. This does not mean that we do not have comparisons between us, but we face them openly to find the best solutions.”
What do you enjoy working with Jasmine best?
«We are different but absolutely the same in one thing. She is someone like me who must be able to experience the level and the results first-hand. Her first goal was to enter the 100, then the 50, then the 30 and then the top 10, putting brick by brick and calcifying the results with a solidity that she built slowly, without forcing, without rushing. This is why when we make plans on ranking or where we can reach the end we always tell ourselves that first we need to improve the gaps, implement the qualities and then be amazed, this is a journey of self-discovery. We hope it lasts a long time, because we know that in tennis there will always be someone who wants to undermine you, who shoots harder or who has more motivation.”
What brought Sara Errani’s entry into doubles and the team?
«There is an incredible feeling with Sara, Jasmine is even happier and Sara is a mine of information. When she asked us if we wanted to try to build an Olympic team I immediately said yes. She was world number 5 in singles and number 1 in doubles, it’s lucky to be able to work together. They won in Rome and reached the final in Paris, excellent conditions. Errani offers Paolini a wealth of experiences that Jasmine knows how to capture in detail.”
Men’s tennis is experiencing a golden moment, Jannik Sinner is number 1 at just 22 years old and behind him a sea of young people are already chasing him…
«We have worked very well as a technical sector, a lot has been sown and a mountain of minor tournaments have been built, from the ITF 15 thousand to the Challengers scattered throughout the territory which create a fundamental gym where you can train hard and grow, so a movement is created, then someone’s extraordinary qualities are rewarded in a high-level career. In the women’s category this unfortunately doesn’t exist and we struggle more to have an emerging base, behind Jasmine, in the top 100, there is Cocciaretto, then Stefanini and then Errani, very little behind, it would be a question to be submitted to the management, something would go into revised effects”.
Do you ever come back to Treviso?
“Rarely. Usually at Christmas before I leave for Australia, I still have my mum, brothers and sisters here, but otherwise I’m always around. Now we will be off for a week, then ready for the grass season, we will start with the Eastbourne tournament, then Wimbledon, the Olympics and then we start again for the American season. In fact, time is always short.”
