Jasmine Paolini led Italy to the Billie Jean King Cup title as they beat Slovakia 2-0 in the final in Malaga.
Paolini swept past Rebecca Sramkova 6-2 6-1 to seal the victory after Lucia Bronzetti overcame Viktoria Hruncakova 6-2 6-4 in the opening singles rubber.
It was Italy’s fifth success in the tournament and their first since 2013, when it was known as the Fed Cup.
Slovakia were unable to repeat their heroics against Great Britain 24 hours earlier, when they fell behind after Emma Raducanu beat Hruncakova but hit back to win 2-1.
Italy’s victory capped an astonishing breakout year for Paolini, who came from relative obscurity to finish runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon.
The 28-year-old also won Olympic gold for Italy in the women’s doubles alongside Davis Cup team-mate Sara Errani.
Paolini and 37-year-old Errani had won the decisive doubles matches in their victories over Japan, in the quarter-finals, and Poland in the last four.
But the doubles rubber was not required after Paolini’s singles victory, which sparked wild celebrations from the team and the large Italian contingent in the stands.
“Jasmine raised her level really high this year. ... She’s an example for all of us,” said Paolini’s teammate, 78th-ranked Lucia Bronzetti.
Bronzetti called it an “honour” to compete in front of Billie Jean King, who herself was in the stands, saying, “She is a great person, a great legend.” Bronzetti never had played a BJK Cup singles match until this week. She said she didn’t find out until Tuesday night that she would be in the lineup against Slovakia.
“I didn’t sleep very well,” Bronzetti said.
“You’re not playing just for yourself,” she said. “You’re playing for your team and your country.”
Agencies
