Paolini crushes Sramkova to deliver Italy a fifth Billie Jean King Cup title
The Italian defeated Rebecca Sramkova 6-2, 6-1 to seal a 2-0 win for Italy in the final of the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup finals
Italy win the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup title © Manu Fernandez/AP/SIPA
Jasmine Paolini put in a talismanic performance to deliver Italy their fifth Billie Jean King Cup title with a commanding victory over Rebecca Sramkova, powering past the Slovak 6-2 6-1 amid a cacophonous atmosphere in Malaga.
It is Italy’s first Billie Jean King Cup title since 2013, having fallen just short against Canada in last year’s final. One year on, they have made a victorious return to fully establish themselves as the undisputed world champions.
Lucia Bronzetti had earlier put the Italians into a 1-0 lead with an impressive win over Viktoria Hruncakova before Paolini sealed the decisive win in the second match of the tie.
The world No 4 played to her ranking as she ultimately outclassed a wonderfully talented but relatively inexperienced Sramkova on a raucous night of jubilation for the Italian fans.
After a superb run in the finals of this competition, across which she has beaten Danielle Collins, Ajla Tomljanovic and Katie Boulter to secure her nation’s passage into a second Billie Jean King Cup final, Sramkova looked to have run out of steam and was overawed by the weight of the occasion as her opponent’s greater experience on the big stages came to the fore.
peerless paolini leads her nation to victory
Paolini was majestic. Exhibiting the full array of her extensive repertoire, the Italian showed just how well she can cope with extreme pressure, something which was perhaps in doubt having been on the losing side of two Grand Slam singles finals this season.
But when her nation needed her most, Paolini rose to the occasion in the most commendable fashion, capping off a stellar breakthrough year with another huge title to her name.
After winning in Dubai back in February for her maiden 1000-level trophy, Paolini sealed doubles gold alongside compatriot and doubles partner Sara Errani.
This time, she shares the spoils with all of her fellow Italian teammates as this tennis powerhouse underlines its status as the sport’s leading nation.
ITALY. WORLD CHAMPIONS 🏆🇮🇹#BJKCup | @federtennis pic.twitter.com/6Id9nakluM
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) November 20, 2024
A palpably tense and nervy opening five games went on serve, before the world No 4 made the first move in the sixth game, upping her depth and aggression on return to break Sramkova for a 4-2 lead.
The Italian was suddenly showing the sort of form that delivered her a 1000-level title and two Grand Slam final appearances this year, holding serve with a blistering backhand winner down the line before breaking again in the eighth and final game to put Italy just a set away from glory.
An early break in the second set for Paolini was wiped out impressively by the Slovak in the next game, before the Italian struck again in the fourth en route to a 4-1 lead as Sramkova’s unforced error count began to rise alarmingly.
By this point, Paolini’s forehand was operating at maximum capacity, devastating the Slovak’s tiring defence to break for a fifth time in the contest before serving her country to victory a game later.
“It’s a dream come true. I have such great champions, great players, and great human beings. I am so proud of them. They fight every day,” said Team Captain Tathiana Garbin in the immediate aftermath of the result.
“An unbelievable year, a crazy year. To finish like this with a title in the Billie Jean King Cup is amazing. I don’t have words to describe it,” gushed a delighted Paolini, who lost to Leylah Fernandez in the singles of last year’s final in Italy’s defeat to Canada.
italy establishes itself as tennis’ leading nation
Italian tennis is in a truly glorious place within its already illustrious history. Last November, the men’s team won the country’s first Davis Cup in 47 years. This year, runaway world No 1 Jannik Sinner will lead the title defence as another strong contingent hopes to make it back-to-back Davis Cup triumphs.
Twelve months on from that historic victory for the men, the Italian women have now shown they have just as much strength in depth by sweeping the field in Malaga to clinch a fifth Billie Jean King Cup title in 19 years. That is a win rate of more than 25% since winning their first.
Over the course of the 21st century, this nation has steadily established itself as a leading tennis nation. Now, it would appear that it has taken the next step. Italy are the finest tennis country in the world, quite possibly across both the men’s and women’s games.
Led by one of the best players in the world in Paolini, this Billie Jean King Cup team also boast the Olympic champions doubles team and the perennially dangerous talents of Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Lucia Bronzetti – both of whom appear to raise their games when representing their country – as well as the experienced and steadying presence of Martina Trevisan.
They overcame a courageous effort from Japan in the last eight before edging past Iga Swiatek’s Poland and now completing today’s comprehensive victory over the plucky underdogs of Slovakia.
Italy are more than deserving winners of this year’s title, and with the homegrown talent continuing to flow through in numbers via the extensive Challenger-level structure they have built over the past two decades and more, the future of Italian tennis looks very much set to be a truly golden one.
