Sara Errani dedicates French Open 1R win to grandmother who passed away the night before
Sara Errani scored her first Grand Slam maindraw win since 2018 on Sunday, beating Jil Teichman 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the 2023 French Open. A former Top-5 player, the Italian is currently climbing her way back into the top in recent times after a lengthy drugs suspension and time on the sidelines.
After her win over Teichman, Errani appeared very emotional, even looking to be on the verge of tears sitting on her bench. Many believed it to be a response to finally scoring a Slam win after a long while, but as it turns out, the 36-year-old had much bigger reasons to be emotional on the night.
As revealed by Sara Errani herself in a recent interview with UbiTennis, her grandmother had passed away the night before and she had woken up in the morning on the day of her first-round match to the news.
Recalling that her grandmother used to watch all her matches, the Italian dedicated the win to her. The former World No. 5 also admitted that she herself couldn't believe how she managed to keep her nerves about her during the contest.
"Yes, a difficult match, today was a difficult day. Tonight my grandmother passed away, I woke up with this news. Unfortunately it's been a complicated day since this morning, but I still managed to get in, to fight, to stay there…and in the end I brought the match home, I don't know exactly how either," Sara Errani said.
"My grandmother used to watch all my matches, obviously this victory is for her. It's hard to be away from home when these things happen, away from my parents, from my mom. On the one hand, I'm sorry to be here," she added.
The World No. 73 then spoke about whether she plans to stay involved in tennis following her retirement, stating that she would like to take on a mentoring/coaching role, seeing as tennis was a sport she "loved to death."
"Years ago I thought not. But now I think so. Sometimes I also like to watch other kids playing, if I can help and give advice I like it, I like to see where they can improve. It's something a coach does, so it's something I quite like. Then we'll see what I'll do, I don't know yet," Sara Errani said.
"Surely tennis will always be part of my life, it's a sport that I love to death. So I also like watching him, I go to see my coach's son at tournaments and I go crazy, I really love watching him, standing there, trying to figure out what he could do and what he couldn't," she added.
"When I enter the field, I give everything" - Sara Errani
Sara Errani further touched on how she has changed as a player over the years, remarking that she plays far quieter these days than she did in her youth. At the same time, the Italian made it clear that she will give her everything when she enters the court as she loved the fighting aspect of the game.
"It had almost become a personal challenge, succeeding somewhat relieved me of a burden. Now I definitely play a little quieter, and I take what comes. Of course, when I enter the field I give everything, but I am aware that they are on their last legs.
"So I put everything into it as always but because I love tennis, because I like playing, fighting, and therefore I try with all my strength," Sara Errani said.
Up next, Sara Errani will take on 27th seed Irina-Camelia Begu in the second round of the 2023 French Open.