Errani and Paolini make history with China Open title defense

Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini just keep winning big titles.

Beijing: Scores | Draws | Order of play

The Italian super team became the first pair of players to successfully defend the women’s doubles title at the China Open, rallying from a set down to defeat Fanny Stollar and Miyu Kato 6-7 (1), 6-3, [10-2] in 1 hour and 34 minutes on Sunday in Beijing.

The victory marks their third WTA 1000 title of the season, adding to wins in Doha and Rome. It’s their fourth title overall in 2025, including their French Open triumph.

In the past 16 months, Errani and Paolini have captured a Grand Slam title, an Olympic gold medal and five WTA 1000 trophies.

All the while, Paolini has maintained a full singles schedule alongside her doubles' success -- a level of dedication Errani deeply values.

“Jasmine, I’m very lucky to have the opportunity to play with her,” Errani said during the trophy presentation. “I know how difficult it is to play singles and doubles, so I appreciate her commitment a lot.”

Errani also thanked the fans.

“And thanks of course to the crowd. It was amazing to play on this court in front of a lot of people. Thanks for staying for so many matches and giving us a lot of love.”

Résumé booster: For Paolini, the win carries extra significance: it’s her 10th career WTA doubles title, and her ninth alongside Errani.

Her résumé has grown rapidly over the past year, with standout performances in both singles and doubles. 

Since the start of 2024, Paolini has won two WTA 1000 singles titles and five in doubles, along with the French Open and Olympic gold medal in doubles. She also reached Grand Slam singles finals at Wimbledon and Roland Garros and was runner-up at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati.

And while Errani expressed gratitude for Paolini’s loyalty despite her packed schedule, Paolini was quick to return the praise.

“Of course, it’s always nice to play doubles with her,” Paolini said. “But it’s nice to have her on the bench when I play singles, because she’s helping me a lot. So, thanks to you, Sara.”

For Errani, the win adds another major achievement to an already decorated career.

It’s her 36th WTA doubles title, including six Grand Slam titles, 10 WTA 1000 trophies and the aforementioned Olympic gold medal. She also owns three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, four runner-up finishes in Grand Slam doubles finals, and was the singles runner-up at the 2012 French Open.

Stock watch: Following their title, Errani and Paolini will both hold steady at No. 5 in the PIF WTA Doubles Rankings, though they’ve gained significant ground on the four players ahead of them.

They’ve already secured their spot in the WTA Finals in Riyadh this November.

For Stollar and Kato, the run to the Beijing final was a surprise -- and a rewarding one. Stollar is set to climb six spots to a career-best No. 31, while Kato is projected to rise 14 spots to No. 43 in the world when the rankings update Monday.

Path to the title: The Italian pair dominated their run to the title in Beijing, dropping just five games in the first round -- the most they’d lose in any match en route to the final. In the semifinals, they cruised past No. 4 seeds Hsieh Su-Wei and Jelena Ostapenko, blanking them in the second set.

In the final, Stollar and Kato briefly threatened after putting together a clinical performance in the first-set tiebreak, winning seven of eight points, but even then, the stats told a different story.

Errani and Paolini went 0-for-5 on break points, committed 13 fewer unforced errors while producing the same number of winners as their opponents and won more total points in the first set.

The difference came in the second set, where they converted two of five break points and faced no pressure on their own serve. They finished the match 2-for-10 on break points, while facing just one break point themselves.

In the match tiebreak, they raced out to a 4-0 lead and extended it to 9-2 before closing out the win. After dropping the first-set tiebreak, they made sure to win the one that mattered most.

And in the end, as Paolini noted with her post-match camera message, the pair are now two-time China Open champions.