Jasmine Paolini discussed her shock second round defeat at the Wimbledon Championships.
A year ago the world number five produced a magical run to the final at the All-England Club, losing a three-set tussle to Barbora Krejcikova.
Since then she has established herself as a top 10 player and claimed an Olympic gold medal, the Billie Jean King Cup and the Italian Open titles.
But Jasmine Paolini was unable to produce more spectacular play at Wimbledon this season, as she squandered a one-set lead to lose to Kamilla Rakhimova.
Jasmine Paolini says what she would have changed before Wimbledon after second round loss
Paolini entered Wimbledon after reaching the semi-finals of the Berlin Open the week prior.
The 28-year-old came from a set down to defeat Anastasija Sevastova in the opening round, before taking on Rakhimova. The Russian had yet to defeat a top 10 player in her career.
But after saving four break points to level the second set at 1-1, she did not lose serve for the rest of the match as she completed a shock 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.
During her post-match press conference a disappointed Paolini cited fatigue and admitted she would change her schedule in the buildup to Wimbledon if she could. “It was a tough one. I’m still thinking about the 2nd set. I could do much better,” the Italian said.
She played a great match. But honestly I could play better. Especially mentally to stay there a bit more. More focused. My attention was going up and down all the time.”
I feel a little bit tired right now. It’s tough to accept. It was two intense months before here. Maybe I could skip the first tournament after Roland Garros like I did last year to rest a little bit.
“It doesn’t make sense to talk about these kinds of things now. I was hoping today to extend on court and try to focus on every point.
“But as I said before, my attention was going up and down. The goal for the next part of the season is to reset a bit and try to mentally stay there every point.”
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Something has happened at Wimbledon for the first time since 2018 after Jasmine Paolini’s defeat
Paolini’s defeat means that yet another seeded player has suffered an early exit from Wimbledon.
The two-time Grand Slam runner-up joins Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Zheng Qinwen as four of the top five seeded players to be out of Wimbledon by the second round. This is the first time this has occurred since 2018.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka is the last player from the top five seeds remaining in the draw after beating Marie Bouzková 7-6, 6-4 to reach the third round.
After her match Sabalenka commented on the number of seeded players losing early at SW19. “Honestly, it’s very sad to see so many top players lose in the first round. But you’ve got to focus on yourself,” the Belarusian said.
“Of course, you’re going to know the overall picture, but you have to take it one step at a time. I hope it is no upsets anymore in this tournament, if you know what I mean!”