The Olympic tennis tournament came to a close and ended with an incredibly intriguing and exciting battle. On Sunday, August 4, Russians Mirra Andreeva/Diana Schneider and Italians Yasmin Paolini/Sarah Errani (3) competed for gold at the 2024 Games in women’s doubles.
Both pairs had an amazing journey in Paris, but more attention should be paid to the results of our girls. On the way to the final, Diana and Mirra beat five pairs and four of them were seeded. At first, the Russians defeated Australians Ajla Tomljanovic/Olivia Gadeki, and then they proved to be stronger than Gabriela Dabrowski/Leila Fernandez (5), Katerzyna Siniakova/Barbora Krejcikova (2), Kristina Buksha/Sara Sorribes-Tormo (8).
The Italians did not face any seeded opponents at this tournament. Yasmin and Sarah beat Erin Routliffe/Lulu Soon, Caroline Garcia/Diane Parry, Katie Boulter/Heather Watson and Caroline Muchova/Linda Noskova.
Mirra has already beaten the Paolini/Errani pairing once before. At the thousandth event held in Madrid this year, the 17-year-old played in a duo with Vera Zvonareva and the Russians defeated the Italians in a bitter fight 7:5, 6:4. Andreeva also met Errani this week in Paris: the athletes competed in mixed doubles, where Mirra, partnering Daniil Medvedev, lost to Sara in a duo with Andrea Vavassori (3:6, 2:6).
Andreeva and Errani have a surprising age difference – exactly 20 years, as both girls were born on April 29. At the time when Mirra was just born, Sarah was already in her sixth season at the professional level. And now tennis players from such different generations met on the same court to compete for Olympic gold.
In the first few games of today’s match, the tennis players felt each other’s weak points. The Italians started the match aggressively, but the Russians quickly resisted the pressure of their rivals and began to act themselves. Both pairs were looking for good tactical solutions, but Diana and Mirra seemed to have the advantage in this. They also made fewer mistakes than the Italians, in particular Yasmin Paolini.
Today Schneider looked relaxed: she played with strength and width, she steadfastly resisted the skirmishes at the net and supported Andreeva, who was a little more tense and worried. Both Russians acted with such confidence and speed that they did not allow the Italians to come to their senses. This helped Diana and Mirra to take a break in the fourth game.
With the score at 2:5, Errani took a medical time-out before serving and headed to the stands. It is not clear what exactly was troubling the Italian players, but both seemed lost on the court today. Diana and Mirra eventually won the opening game in 36 minutes and with a score of 6:2.
Mirra Andreeva and Diana Schneider
Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Something changed in the mood of the Italians at the beginning of the second set: Paolini began to play a little more confidently and Errani became impenetrable at the net, which helped them break early. The Russians, on the contrary, completely lost concentration and made mistakes until the score was 0:2, 0:40 on Mirra’s serve. Only then did our girls come back into action, fighting off three break points and preventing their opponents from taking the lead. At the same time, in their games, Sara and Yasmin continued to wear down their Russian rivals, although Mirra and Diana did their best to hold the line.
The Italians put in a lot of effort in the second set, barely giving the Russians any breathing space, thanks to which Sarah and Yasmin held on to the game in 34 minutes and with a score of 6-1. Everything had to be decided in the championship tie-break. Mirra and Diana had very little time to activate additional reserves and force their opponents to their feet.
In the first two exchanges, everything was in the hands of the Italians again, but a couple of attacks and successful actions by Mirra evened things up a bit. It seemed that this was the moment to turn the tide of the game. And our girls endured everything, withstood prolonged demonstrations and demonstrated a very tenacious fight. Diana and Mirra were only three points away from victory, but Sarah and Yasmin were not going to give up anymore. They won the tiebreak with a score of 10:7 and became Olympic champions.
Andreeva and Schneider teamed up for the first time just before the start of the Olympics. The girls immediately managed to play well and feel comfortable together on the court. During the Games, the girls talked about this more than once.
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Paolini and Errani continued their successful season with a third prize. This year, the Italians won the tournaments in Linz and Rome, and also participated in the final of Roland Garros, where they lost to Cori Gauff and Katerzina Siniakova.
Despite the result, our girls’ performance at their first Olympic Games is a great success and a source of pride! Mirra and Diana are silver medallists and great partners. Their duo is wonderful and all the best and the most important awards are ahead of them.
