Representing her country off the court: ‘Proud’ Jasmine Paolini selected as torchbearer for upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics
Jasmine Paolini has represented her country to the highest standard on the tennis court, doing Italy proud by being a part of the team which won two Billie Jean King Cup triumphs on the bounce. Her services will now be utilised off the court with her being picked out as a torchbearer for the upcoming 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.
The 29-year-old is just one of the 10,000 torchbearers who will carry the flame from Olympia, Greece, before landing in its temporary home at the San Siro in Milan, burning away in the Olympic cauldron. The torch will start its journey on the 26th November before arriving in the Greek capital of Athens on the fourth December. Commencing in Rome, it will then traverse through 110 provinces and 60 cities through Italy, stopping off at the co-host Cortina d’Ampezzo on the 26th January before finishing in Milan.
The ecstatic Paolini announced the news on her Instagram page, as she wrote: “Proud to be part of the Olympic Torch Relay for Milano Cortina 2026! Thanks to @cocacolait for this incredible opportunity.”
Paolini’s incredible form for Italy
This unique opportunity should come to no surprise when you see the impact Paolini has made in Italian tennis. With Jannik Sinner doing his bit for the men’s game, Paolini has not reached those levels of dominance, but has still left a distinct mark in the sport.
An integral part to the Billie Jean King Cup squad, Paolini helped her country reach the Final for the first time since 2013 when they thrashed Russia 4-0 in the final. They were looking for title number five but succumbed to defeat against Canada. They would not make the same mistake in 2024, clinching the title against Slovakia with a 2-0 victory in Malaga. Her services were called upon in not only the singles, but the doubles where she and Sara Errani formed a brilliant bond.
This year, they were under pressure to defend their title, but proved too strong for anyone else in Shenzhen. Paolini defeated Xinyu Wang in a gritty matchup to send them through to the semi-finals before keeping their hopes alive with another three-set triumph over Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, once again coming back from a set deficit. They faced a strong USA team in the final, with them boasting Emma Navarro and Jessica Pegula. Fellow Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto got the better of Navarro, which meant a win over the world number five would seal another title for Italy, and that’s exactly what Paolini did, winning 6-4, 6-2 to commence celebrations in Italy.
It is not just in the Billie Jean King Cup where Paolini is flying her country’s flag high, but also in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Despite a disappointing exit in the third-round of the singles event against Slovakian Anna Karolína Schmiedlova, she was still standing with Errani in the doubles event. After defeating the Czech pair of Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova in the semi-finals, they were guaranteed at least a gold or silver medal. The colours would be split between them and Russian pair Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider. After being demolished in the first set, they gave the Russian duo a trouncing to level affairs and force a deciding tiebreak, in which the Italians came out on top 10-7 to yield their countries first tennis gold medal.
This form represented on the world stage for Italy proves that Paolini is a much-deserved candidate to carry the torch amongst the other 10,000 people. Despite this honour, she will first turn her attention to the WTA Finals in Riyadh, with her competing in both the singles and doubles.
