On the famed red clay of Roland-Garros in August, Jasmine Paolini could hardly contain her excitement as she tossed her racket high in the air, pumped both of her fists and embraced her doubles partner, Sara Errani. Just seconds earlier, the Italian duo had made history, defeating Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider to claim their nation’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in tennis.

“We were playing good, so I was repeating to myself, ‘Maybe we can have a chance,’” Paolini tells Forbes, a few weeks removed from the Paris Games. “But I was hoping for this gold medal.” Admittedly, even Paolini couldn’t have predicted this breakthrough moment, let alone the banner year that has undoubtedly transformed her life.