Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani have had a long and storied doubles partnership on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, winning an Olympic gold medal, a French Open title and five WTA 1000 titles.

They’ve also led Italy to back-to-back Billie Jean King Cup titles.

But the origin of their relationship can actually be traced back to 2009, a decade before they first played together at the Billie Jean King Cup playoffs. 

Coincidentally, their first meeting — kind of — fittingly occurred at the Billie Jean King Cup, then known as the Fed Cup.

Paolini recalls being a ball girl at the 2009 Fed Cup final between Italy and the United States in Reggio Calabria, Italy. She was just 13 at the time, and it was the first time she had a chance to watch Errani, her future partner and coach, play up close.

Though it was an incredible and memorable moment, especially for a tennis-loving teenager, the World No. 7 recalls being filled with anxiety in the high-profile gig.

“It was so stressful,” Paolini said on the Tennis Channel this week in Miami. “I remember [Flavia] Pennetta was like, ‘Give the ball to the other ball kid, because I don’t want it from you!’ But yeah, it was an unbelievable experience.”

Unsurprisingly, Errani has no recollection of a young Paolini in Reggio Calabria.

“No, I don’t remember her,” she said with a laugh. “Of course I don’t remember her!” 

She certainly remembers that weekend, though. Italy defeated the United States 4-0 to win its second Fed Cup title, with Errani and partner Roberta Vinci wining a thrilling 4-6, 6-3, 11-9 match over Vania King and Liezel Huber.

Playing together in Miami this week, Errani and Paolini are into the semifinals after beating Erin Routliffe and Asia Muhammad 6-3, 6-1.

The top seeds will next play Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai on Friday for a spot in the final.

This is the third time Errani and Paolini have teamed up in Miami. They reached the semifinals together in 2024 but lost in the second round last year.