Don't let anyone tell you who you are

Stories of 3 women who didn't.

If you’ve been on this list for a bit, you’ll know I’m a (big) tennis fan. Over the two weeks of the majors, I watch a lot of tennis. And when given the chance, I get there live. Case in point, I played business owner hooky last Friday, and with two hours notice, hopped on the 7 train and made my way to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens for the first men’s semifinal match at the US Open (insert chef’s kiss). I simply love the game.

Throughout this year’s tennis season, one player caught my attention, Italian Jasmine Paolini. She made it to the singles finals at both the French Open and Wimbledon and ditto at the French for doubles. And she won a gold medal in the women’s doubles at this year’s Paris Olympics. She’s fiery and fast on the court. And doesn’t give up, even when she’s down. She’s always smiling, and she’s a blast to watch.

Image via Facebook @Jamine Paolini

At 28, she’s not new to the sport. When asked after her third round US Open match why 2024 has been such a good year and why she’s been winning big, she smiled and said:

“Because I believe more in myself. I started to believe I could play well also in the slams. Because before this year I never passed two rounds in a Grand Slam.”

You could feel that belief come through the screen when she said it.

Now, know this about Jasmine Paolini. Her official stats say she’s 5’4”, but some (like tennis champ now commentator Chrissy Evert and a recent Vogue.com article) suggest that’s a stretch (pun intended), and that she’s 5’3”, at best. To put her height in perspective, the 2024 US Open Women’s Single Champion, Aryna Sabalenka, is an even 6’, and the American Jessica Pegula, whom Sabalenka beat in the final, is 5’7”. Perhaps not surprisingly, she was told early in her career that she was too short to play tennis.

Jasmine Paolini ignored that unsolicited advice. And at this year’s French Open, she beat 6’ Elena Rybakina to reach the finals.

As she told Tennis.com:

“I wish I was taller, because I could serve better. But I think I accept that I have to do with my own body. I mean, I'm short. Okay, we try to not make it a problem, we try to do something different to improve another aspect…

I mean, I wish I was taller, but it's okay, I'm not…Yeah, I'm not. We have to do with what we have, you know (smiling).”

When I saw her on the court, I thought of a lion. She works hard with her team on her fitness, strength, agility, and her game. And as Vogue.com suggested, what she lacks in height, she makes up for:

“with heart, grit, and an impressive mental resilience”.

I can’t wait to watch her in 2025.

She’s not the only one.

There was an article in Friday’s The New York Times written by Samantha Hurley, a photographer and a journalism student at the University of Georgia.