The 2024
Roland Garros tournament proved to be a momentous event, with several players etching their names in tennis history. It was a particularly memorable Grand Slam for players from Italy, with
Jannik Sinner and
Jasmine Paolini leaving Paris with new career milestones.
Although Sinner fell in the semifinals to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz, the 22-year old left the event as the new World No.1. Sinner has had a spectacular season, winning his maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne earlier this year. Additionally, he lifted titles in Miami and Rotterdam, which saw him close the gap on former World No.1 Novak Djokovic.
Paolini finished runner-up at Roland Garros, losing in the final to defending champion Iga Swiatek. The 28-year old defeated former Grand Slam champions Bianca Andreescu and Elena Rybakina en route to reaching the final, the first in her career. The Italian has been having her best year on the WTA tour, winning the biggest title of her career at the Dubai Open in February. Her run to the Roland Garros final saw her reach a new career high of World No.7, in addition to rising to World No.14 in the women's doubles after finishing runner-up at that event.
With both Sinner (1) and Paolini (7) in the top 10 on their respective tours, averaging their combined ranking will give them a ranking of No.4. This puts Italy at the top of the table when averaging combined rankings of the highest-ranked players from the same country on both the ATP and WTA tours.