Sara Errani facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Sara Errani

Sara Errani at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships
Country (sports)	Italy
Residence	Bologna, Italy
Born	(1987-04-29) 29 April 1987 (age 38) Bologna
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Turned pro	2002
Retired	19 May 2025 (singles)
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach	Pablo Lozano Beamud (2004–2016, present)
Prize money	US$16,164,298 37th in all-time rankings
Official website	sara-errani.com
Singles
Career record	690–516 (57.21%)
Career titles	9
Highest ranking	No. 5 (20 May 2013)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (2012)
French Open	F (2012)
Wimbledon	3R (2010, 2012)
US Open	SF (2012)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	RR (2012, 2013)
Olympic Games	3R (2016)
Doubles
Career record	408–234 (63.55%)
Career titles	35
Highest ranking	No. 1 (10 September 2012)
Current ranking	No. 6 (10 February 2025)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (2013, 2014)
French Open	W (2012, 2025)
Wimbledon	W (2014)
US Open	W (2012)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	SF (2012, 2013)
Olympic Games	W (2024)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	2R (2025)
French Open	W (2025)
Wimbledon	2R (2025)
US Open	W (2024)
Other mixed doubles tournaments
Olympic Games	QF (2024)
Team competitions
BJK Cup	W (2009, 2010, 2013, 2024)
Medal record Representing  Italy Olympic Games Gold 2024 Paris Doubles

Sara Errani (born 29 April 1987) is a professional tennis player from Italy. She is one of only seven women who have achieved a special tennis milestone called a Golden Slam in doubles. This means she has won all four major tennis tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open) and an Olympic gold medal in doubles.

Sara Errani is an Olympic Games gold medalist and was once the world's number one player in doubles. She has won major titles in both doubles and mixed doubles. She also reached the finals in singles at a major tournament. Her highest singles ranking was world No. 5, which she reached on 20 May 2013. With nine singles titles and 35 doubles titles, she holds the record for the most career titles among Italian tennis players. Her doubles titles include eight major championships, eight WTA 1000 titles, and an Olympic gold medal.

In doubles, she entered the top 10 on 11 June 2012 and stayed there for 94 weeks in a row. She was the year-end number-one doubles player in both 2013 and 2014, holding the top spot for a total of 87 weeks.

The year 2012 was a big year for Errani. At the Australian Open, she reached the quarterfinals in singles for the first time in a Grand Slam. She also made it to the doubles final. Errani is known as a clay-court specialist, meaning she plays very well on clay surfaces. She won three titles on clay before the 2012 French Open. At the French Open, she reached the finals in both singles and doubles. She won the doubles title with her partner Roberta Vinci.

Sara and Roberta also won doubles titles at the 2012 US Open, and the 2013 and 2014 Australian Open. By winning the 2014 Wimbledon Women's Doubles title, Errani and Vinci became only the fifth pair in tennis history to complete a Career Grand Slam. This means they won all four major doubles titles together at some point in their careers. Errani became the seventh player in the Open Era to achieve a Golden Slam by winning the Olympics with Jasmine Paolini. She won the WTA Awards for best doubles team three times with Vinci and once in 2024 with Paolini.

Errani reached the semifinals at the 2012 US Open in singles. This means Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam where she has not reached the quarterfinals in singles. She also made the semifinals at the 2013 French Open and the quarterfinals at the 2014 French Open, 2014 US Open, and 2015 French Open. She qualified for the WTA Finals twice in 2012 and 2013. In 2017, Errani faced a temporary suspension from playing tennis. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, she was one of the few players to compete in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. Her partnership with Andrea Vavassori in mixed doubles has been very successful. They won major mixed doubles titles at the 2024 US Open and 2025 French Open in their first attempts together.

Early Life and Training

Sara Errani was born in Bologna, Italy. Her father, Giorgio, was a greengrocer, and her mother, Fulvia, was a pharmacist.

• At age 12, her father sent her to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida, USA.
• When she was 16, she moved to Valencia, Spain. There, she was coached by Pablo Lozano and David Andres.

Career Highlights

Starting Her Journey (2002–2007)

Errani began her professional tennis career in 2002 at a tournament in Cagliari, Italy.

• She mostly played on the ITF circuit, which is a level below the main WTA Tour.
• In 2005, she won her first tournament in Melilla, Spain.

First WTA Titles (2008–2011)

Sara Errani at the 2010 US Open

Sara won her first WTA Tour title in 2008 at the Internazionali Femminili di Palermo. She won another title two weeks later.

• By 2011, she had also won six doubles titles.
• In 2009, she was a runner-up in two WTA tournaments.
• She reached the third round in most major tournaments in 2010.
• Errani was part of the Italian team that won the Fed Cup in 2009 and 2010.

Breakthrough Year: Major Finalist and World No. 1 in Doubles (2012)

In 2012, Errani changed her tennis racquet, which many believe helped her improve her game.

• She won three singles titles in the first five months of 2012.
• At the 2012 Australian Open, she reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinals.
• She won her third career title in Acapulco, Mexico, defeating fellow Italian players.
• Errani won her fourth career title at the Barcelona Ladies Open without losing a set.
• She won the 2012 Budapest Grand Prix, making it her third title of the year.
• Her biggest achievement was reaching the singles final at the 2012 French Open. She beat several top players before losing to Maria Sharapova in the final. This success helped her reach the world No. 10 ranking.
• In doubles, she and Roberta Vinci won six titles, including the French Open and the US Open.
• After winning the US Open doubles, she became the world No. 1 in doubles on 10 September 2012.
• She finished 2012 as world No. 6 in singles.

Sara Errani at the 2012 New Haven Open at Yale

Reaching Top 5 in Singles and Staying No. 1 in Doubles (2013)

Sara Errani at the 2013 French Open

In 2013, Errani continued her strong performance.

• She and Roberta Vinci won their third Grand Slam doubles title at the Australian Open.
• Errani reached the singles finals in Paris and Dubai.
• She won her seventh singles title at the Abierto Mexicano.
• At the Mutua Madrid Open, she reached the semifinals, her best result at a WTA Premier Mandatory event.
• She also reached the semifinals at the French Open in singles.
• She qualified for the Tour Championships in both singles and doubles for the second year in a row.

Career Grand Slam in Doubles (2014)

Errani at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships

The year 2014 was historic for Errani in doubles.

• She and Vinci successfully defended their doubles title at the Australian Open, winning their fourth Grand Slam title together.
• They also won doubles titles at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and the Madrid Open.
• At the Internazionali d'Italia, Errani defeated world No. 2 Li Na, her first win against a top-3 player. She reached the final of this tournament.
• At Wimbledon, Errani and Vinci won the women's doubles title. This victory completed their Career Grand Slam, meaning they had won all four major doubles titles together.
• She reached the quarterfinals of the US Open in singles.

Singles Success and Suspension (2015–2018)

Errani at the 2016 US Open

• In 2015, Errani won her first WTA singles title in two years at the 2015 Rio Open.
• In 2016, she won her biggest singles title at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
• In 2017, Errani faced a temporary suspension from playing tennis.

Errani in her second-round match at the 2017 French Open against Kristina Mladenovic

Return to the Courts (2020–2021)

• After her suspension, Errani returned to Grand Slam tennis.
• At the 2020 French Open, she qualified for the main draw and reached the second round.
• She qualified for the 2021 Australian Open and reached the third round, her best result there since 2015. She defeated Venus Williams in the second round.
• At the 2021 Italian Open, she reached the doubles semifinals, which helped her re-enter the top 200 in doubles rankings.

Olympic Gold and Billie Jean King Cup Title (2022–2024)

Errani at the 2024 French Open

• In 2022, Errani won the doubles title at the WTA 125 Argentina Open with Irina Bara.
• In March 2023, she returned to the top 100 in singles rankings for the first time in over four years.
• She won another WTA 125 doubles title in Brazil in 2023 with Léolia Jeanjean.
• In July 2022, she won the singles title at the WTA 125 Contrexeville.
• In 2024, partnering with Jasmine Paolini, she won the doubles title at the Linz Open.
• Errani and Paolini reached the final at their home tournament, the Italian Open in Rome, and won the title.
• They also reached the final of the 2024 French Open in doubles.
• At the Paris Olympics in 2024, Errani and Paolini won the gold medal in women's doubles. This victory completed Sara Errani's career Golden Slam in doubles.
• At the US Open, she reached the third round in singles. She also won the mixed doubles title with Andrea Vavassori.
• In October 2024, Errani and Paolini won the China Open in doubles.
• They qualified for the 2024 WTA Finals and were named WTA Doubles Team of the Year.
• Errani was part of the Italian team that won the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup finals in Spain.

2025: Doubles Title and Singles Retirement

• Errani and Jasmine Paolini won their third WTA 1000 doubles title together at the Qatar Open.
• At the 2025 French Open, Sara Errani played her last professional singles match.

Playing Style

Sara Errani is known for her unique playing style.

• She often has a high first-serve percentage, meaning she gets a lot of her first serves in.
• She is recognized as a clay-court specialist because of her strong performance on clay.
• Errani uses smart strategies on the court, positioning herself well and returning serves early.
• As a doubles specialist, she is very fast around the court.
• She hits the ball with a lot of spin, and her groundstrokes (shots hit after the ball bounces) are often deep and have a high arc.

Career Statistics

Grand Slam Performance in Singles

Grand Slam Performance in Doubles

Important Finals

Grand Slam Singles Final: 1 (1 Runner-up)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	2012	French Open	Clay	Maria Sharapova	3–6, 2–6

Grand Slam Doubles Finals: 10 (6 Titles, 4 Runner-ups)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	2012	Australian Open	Hard	Roberta Vinci	Svetlana Kuznetsova Vera Zvonareva	7–5, 4–6, 3–6
Win	2012	French Open	Clay	Roberta Vinci	Maria Kirilenko Nadia Petrova	4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win	2012	US Open	Hard	Roberta Vinci	Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká	6–4, 6–2
Win	2013	Australian Open	Hard	Roberta Vinci	Ashleigh Barty Casey Dellacqua	6–2, 3–6, 6–2
Loss	2013	French Open	Clay	Roberta Vinci	Ekaterina Makarova Elena Vesnina	5–7, 2–6
Win	2014	Australian Open (2)	Hard	Roberta Vinci	Ekaterina Makarova Elena Vesnina	6–4, 3–6, 7–5
Loss	2014	French Open	Clay	Roberta Vinci	Hsieh Su-wei Peng Shuai	4–6, 1–6
Win	2014	Wimbledon	Grass	Roberta Vinci	Tímea Babos Kristina Mladenovic	6–1, 6–3
Loss	2024	French Open	Clay	Jasmine Paolini	Coco Gauff Kateřina Siniaková	6–7(5–7), 3–6
Win	2025	French Open	Clay	Jasmine Paolini	Anna Danilina Aleksandra Krunić	6–4, 2–6, 6–1

Grand Slam Mixed Doubles Finals: 2 (2 Titles)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	2024	US Open	Hard	Andrea Vavassori	Donald Young Taylor Townsend	7–6(7–0), 7–5
Win	2025	French Open	Clay	Andrea Vavassori	Evan King Taylor Townsend	6–4, 6–2

Summer Olympics Doubles Final: 1 (1 Gold Medal)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Gold	2024	Paris Olympics	Clay	Jasmine Paolini	Mirra Andreeva Diana Shnaider	2–6, 6–1, [10–7]

See also

In Spanish: Sara Errani para niños

• Tennis in Italy