Italy has become the first nation since 2016 to defend its title at the Billie Jean King Cup after rounding off an almost perfect week at the Finals with a dominant win over America.
Italy, who were the top seed at the eight-team knockout event in Shenzhen, clinched glory with the help of back-to-back straight sets wins in the singles. Elisabetta Cocciaretto got the ball rolling with a 6-4, 6-4, win over Emma Navarro, who is currently ranked 73 places higher than her in the WTA Rankings. Cocciaretto was down 2-4 in the second set but responded by winning four straight games to claim victory.
“I was really nervous at the match point because it was a really important match, not just for me but also for my country, all my teammates,” the 24-year-old told reporters.
“I just tried to stay focused and don’t think about the match point, but think about the strategy. I said to myself to run every ball, go for it. That’s what I did.”
In the second match, two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini dropped only six games during her 6-4, 6-2 win over Jessica Pegula, to hand her country an unassailable lead.
“It’s amazing, I didn’t expect it,” Paolini said.
“It’s been a really great week and it’s amazing to play this competition.
“They [United States] were very strong today. It was really tough.”
Throughout this week’s tournament, Italy has played seven matches and won six of them. The only blip they encountered was in the semi-finals against Ukraine when Marta Kostyuk got the better of Cocciaretto. They are the first team to win back-to-back BJK Cup titles since Czechia, who went unbeaten between 2014 and 2016.
Another member of the team is Sara Errani, who has become only the seventh player in the event’s history to win the title on five different occasions. She was also part of the winning team in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2024.
As for America, it is the sixth time in a row they have been beaten by Italy. Despite historically being the most successful team in BJK Cup history, they haven’t won the title since 2017.
“We’ve had an awesome week here. It wasn’t the result that we wanted today,” said Pegula.
“I think at the same time we really enjoyed competing together, making it to a Final, getting through a lot of challenges. Came up short today.” She added.
According to the International Tennis Federation, Italy is one of only four nations to have competed in every Billie Jean King Cup season. The others to do so are Australia, France and Great Britain.
