Sara Errani announced that she will end her singles career at the upcoming Roland Garros. The Italian (No. 177) recently fell in the first round of the WTA 1000 Rome Open, where she had received a wildcard, being eliminated by 4-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka (No. 48) 2-6, 3-6.
The 38-year-old player is one of the best Italians in history, with her best singles result being reaching the final of the 2012 Roland Garros – where she was defeated by Maria Sharapova. As a singles player, Errani won 9 titles in her career and reached a career-high ranking of world No. 5 in 2013.
However, in recent years Errani has been more focused on her doubles career, making sporadic appearances in singles tournaments. Towards the beginning of the year, she dropped out of the top 100, and although she has played some qualifiers, she only has two main draw appearances in singles this year: the Stuttgart Open (first-round loss) and Rome.
Errani stated in her post-match press conference that Roland Garros will possibly be her last singles tournament. "This is my last year in singles, and Paris will probably be my last singles tournament. I don't know if I will play next year, it depends on my progress in doubles," she stated.
Errani does not have a place in the main draw of the French Open, so to gain entry she will have to go through the three qualifying matches. If she passes the qualifying rounds, she would be the oldest player in the main draw of the tournament. Currently, the oldest are Germans Tatjana Maria and Laura Siegemund, both 37 years old with a confirmed place in the main draw.
However, this will not mean retirement for Errani, who has been in great form in doubles, even in the final part of her career. Her partnership since the end of 2023 with Jasmine Paolini has been fruitful, with six titles – including the gold medal at Paris 2024 and three WTA 1000 tournaments, in addition to having played in the final of Roland Garros in 2024.
To date, she is world No. 6 in the WTA doubles ranking, tied in points with her compatriot Jasmine Paolini, with whom she is defending the title this week. The Errani/Paolini pair are 5th in the WTA Race, with good chances at the moment of playing the WTA Finals at the end of the season.
