Italians Win Olympic Gold in Women’s Doubles; Sara Errani Completes Golden Slam
PARIS (AP) — The first medal for athletes from Russia at the 2024 Olympics, while competing as Individual Neutral Athletes due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, was a silver in women’s doubles. Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider, who represented themselves as neutrals, lost in the final to Italy’s Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini with a score of 2-6, 6-1, 10-7 in a match tiebreaker. The Olympic doubles format uses a first-to-10 tiebreaker instead of a traditional third set.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) barred team athletes from Russia and Belarus from competing in team sports at the Paris Games due to the war in Ukraine. However, athletes from these countries were permitted to compete individually as neutrals if they qualified and were approved by the IOC.
During the post-match press conference, Shnaider and Andreeva, both in plain white T-shirts, avoided discussing political matters. Shnaider emphasized she was there to focus on tennis, while Andreeva stated that competing as part of the AIN (Individual Neutral Athletes) group didn’t affect her focus or performance.
The AIN athletes are not permitted to wear country-specific uniforms, so Andreeva and Shnaider wore all-white outfits. Shnaider had worn similar attire at Wimbledon, which also mandates white clothing.
Earlier in the week, Belarusian athletes Ivan Litvinovich and Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya won the first medals for the AIN group at the Paris Olympics, with Litvinovich taking gold in trampoline and Bardzilouskaya earning silver. On Saturday, Yauheni Zalati of Belarus won a silver medal in rowing.
At 17, Andreeva is now the second-youngest player to win an Olympic tennis medal, following Jennifer Capriati, who was 16 when she won gold at the Barcelona Games in 1992. Shnaider, 20, had previously played a season of college tennis at North Carolina State and was competing with Andreeva in their first doubles tournament together. Andreeva was a singles semifinalist at the French Open earlier this year.
Errani and Paolini’s victory marks Italy’s first tennis gold medal at a Summer Olympics. Lorenzo Musetti also won a bronze in men’s singles earlier in the Games. The two medals are Italy’s first in tennis since the 1924 Paris Games.
Errani, 37, achieved a career Golden Slam by adding the Olympic gold to her five Grand Slam doubles titles, each with a different partner, including Roberta Vinci. Paolini, who has had a standout season, recently finished as a runner-up in singles at both the French Open and Wimbledon and was also a finalist in doubles at the French Open with Errani.
Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and Sara Sorribes Tormo secured the bronze medal by defeating Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2 earlier on Sunday.
