Billie Jean King Cup takeaways: The year Italy made history again

After she closed it out, Jasmine Paolini

View Profile spread her arms, screamed and was quickly mobbed by her Italian teammates. A few minutes later, players, coaches and support staff were still jumping up and down in a raucous group hug.

After last year’s final, the Italians had watched, crushed, as Canada similarly celebrated its Billie Jean King Cup title. On Wednesday in Malaga, Spain, the Italians took the final step, winning 2-0 over Slovakia.

Call them champions.

“A crazy year,” Paolini said afterward. “To finish with a title like this, Billie Jean Cup, it’s amazing. I don’t have words to describe it. I feel lucky to be in this position, lucky to be part of this team.

“I’m just happy we could bring the trophy home again.”

It was Italy’s fifth title. In more than six decades of play, they’re only the sixth nation to win five or more times. This is also their first title since 2013, when Sara Errani

View Profile carried her squad in both singles and doubles. Now 37, Errani was the only holdover and a huge part of this victory, too.

As with most champions at team events, the Italians were far greater than the sum of their parts. 

Yes, after a career year, Paolini is the WTA Tour’s No.4-ranked singles player. But here are the singles rankings of her four teammates: Elisabetta Cocciaretto

View Profile (No.53), Lucia Bronzetti

View Profile (No.78), Errani No. 104 and Martina Trevisan

View Profile (No.126).

Rankings are fine for seeding purposes -- Poland, for example, came in with three Top 40 players -- but they do not measure chemistry, belief and the ability to rise to the moment.

A fistful of takeaways:

The spark behind Italy’s victory

Back in May, they were laughing side by side in the players’ dining hall at the Italian Open, attacking the grilled branzino, rice and vegetables on their plates. Errani and Pasolini are pretty good on the court, too.

They won four titles in 2024 -- Linz, Rome, Beijing and the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. They were a perfect 2-0 in Malaga.

In retrospect, the key moment of Italy’s title run might have come in the first set of the doubles match against Poland. With tie all even at 1, World No.2 Iga Swiatek

View Profile and Katarzyna Kawa

View Profile held three set points on the Italians. But Errani, with some inspired net play, helped erase them all.

Italy eventually took the first set 7-5 and, after winning the last six games of the match, the second by the same score.

“Playing in the past, was maybe nervous,” Errani said, making a point to thank captain Tathiana Garbin for selecting her to the team. “This time I was not that much nervous. Was very special to win this title with them.”

One for the thumb

Italy’s five titles have all come since the turn of the century -- only the Czech Republic (six) has won more in that time. Since the last Czech victory in 2018, there have now been five different champions.

Paolini’s breakout year powers Italy

She was ranked No.30 when Italy went down in last year’s finals. But, after learning how to manage the big moments, Paolini was spectacular in 2024.

There was her first WTA Tour 1000 title in Dubai after beating Anna Kalinskaya

View Profile in the final. But it was her improvement in the Grand Slams that was remarkable.

In five previous years, Paolini played in 16 major singles draws -- and won only four matches. This year, she advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open, then back-to-back finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon before finishing with a fourth round at the US Open. It added up to an 18-4 record -- the most wins by an Italian woman in history.

Paolini, the only player to qualify in both singles and doubles at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, led Italy with four combined victories in singles and doubles.

Slovakia’s unforgettable run

A year ago, it was Italy that ended Slovakia’s Billie Jean King Cup hopes with a win in the qualifying round. Last November, Slovakia cleared the first hurdle for 2024, defeating Argentina on the strength of two Viktoria Hruncakova

View Profile singles wins. In April, Slovakia bested Slovenia 4-0 and advanced to the Finals.

Slovakia was impressive in Spain, upsetting the United States, Australia and, in the semifinals, Great Britain. Rebecca Sramkova

View Profile won all three of her singles matches and Slovakia arrived in the final looking for its second BJK Cup title.

Slovakia’s captain Matej Liptak had the right perspective.

“All my girls will be legends now,” he said. “Even if they don’t finish it tomorrow, this is a really special moment for them and for our country. Everyone will know who was in this team.

Bronzetti steps up in the clutch

She hit a career-high ranking of No.46 back in April but finished the season with a losing record in singles. Still, there were late semifinal runs in Monastir and Guangzhou, which might have been in the back of Garbin’s mind when Cocciaretto lost in the opening match against Japan.

Bronzetti drew Poland’s Magda Linette

View Profile in the semifinals, a big ask because Linette was ranked 40 spots higher. Bronzetti was better, though, 6-4, 7-6 (3). She was a 6-2, 6-4 winner over Hruncakova and was the only player to reach the final and go undefeated in singles.

“I watched the tennis before and always dream about this trophy,” she said afterward. “We are so proud. Yeah, now we celebrate.”