Jasmine Paolini has qualified for the WTA Finals in doubles alongside her partner and coach Sara Errani, following a crucial victory at the Tokyo Open.
Doubles Success Secures Spot Despite Singles Struggles
Paolini has experienced a challenging singles campaign in 2026 due to an ongoing foot issue throughout the season, managing only one semi-final appearance and dropping to her lowest ranking in three years. These physical setbacks also disrupted her partnership with Errani, preventing the pair from playing a WTA match together for more than a stretch of three months.
Despite not securing a title together over the course of the season, their prior consistency kept them in contention for the year-end tournament. The battle for the final qualification spot came down to a direct race between Paolini and Errani, and the team consisting of Britain’s Olivia Nicholls and Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova.
Showdown in Tokyo Decides Qualification
The qualification race reached its climax at the Tokyo Open, where Paolini and Errani needed to outperform Nicholls and Mihalikova to secure the remaining berth. Both pairings advanced to the semi-finals, setting up a direct head-to-head match where the winner would claim the last spot for the season finale.
Drawing on their experience as a Grand Slam-winning combination, Paolini and Errani defeated Nicholls and Mihalikova with a score of 6-4, 6-0. This marks their third consecutive appearance at the WTA Finals, which are scheduled to take place in Indian Wells starting November 8, following round-robin exits in 2024 and 2025.
Paolini and Errani will join Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani, Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova, Kristina Mladenovic and Hanyu Guo, Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Cristina Bucsa, Su-wei Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko, Demi Schuurs and Ellen Perez, and Elise Mertens and Shuai Zhang in the eight-team field. Meanwhile, Nicholls and Mihalikova will travel to Indian Wells as the first alternates, and Paolini and Errani will first look to claim their opening title of 2026 in the remainder of the Tokyo tournament.
