Billy Jean King Cup
Paolini assures Italy a sixth BJK Cup trophy
Jasmine Paolini won her fourth match of the week on Sunday to hand holder Italy a sixth team title at the BJK Cup with a 2-0 Sunday defeat of the US in Shenzhen
The two-time Grand Slam finalist ranked eighth, closed the door on the Americans with her 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Jessica Pegula in the final.
Teammate Elisabeta Cocciaretto got the final day started, defeating Emma Navarro 6-4, 6-4.
The weekend win gives the Italians a sixth title in the team competition from the past 19 editions, as they defended the 2024 crown.
Team member Sara Errani, now concentrating on doubles at age 38, has played on five different title-winning teams, with her first success coming in 2009 – well over a decade and a half since her first trophy performance.
Paolini won her opening set against Pegula and took a 5-1 lead in the second, but was broken for 5-2 after wasting three match point chances
Moments later,she broke Pegula back to clinch victory.
Cocciaretto stunned 18th-ranked Navarra in 89 minutes to set the stage for her teammate to finish the job.“It was an unbelievable match for me,” Cocciaretto said. “I knew I had to play my best tennis. I’m really happy about the performance and the point that I gave to Italy.”
The protagonists from the just-completed China Open will give the WTA Wuhan event a miss, with both Zheng Qinwen and finalist Mirra Andreeva skipping the key Asian date.
Beijing weekend champion Zheng who thrilled a nation with her home title victory, is claiming a right shoulder injury which Andreeva feels “fatigue.”
“I’m very sorry to share that I will be withdrawing from this year’s Wuhan Open,” Zheng said in a statement. “Wuhan is where my tennis dream began, and the Wuhan Open is also where I made my breakthrough at the WTA 1000 level.
“I have always looked forward to competing in front of my hometown fans.
“Since returning from injury, however, I have played a demanding stretch of tennis over the past month and a half, competing at the US Open, the Billie Jean King Cup, and the China Open.
“My body is feeling very fatigued after this intense run of matches. I look forward to returning to the Wuhan Open next year and stepping onto the court in my best possible form!”
Andreeva’s Beijing performance has lifted the teenager into the ranking top 3 for the first time and gives her a shot at the world No. 1 ranking by season’s end next month.
Main photo :-Zheng Quinwen by ISF Ltd
Recent Wimbledon protagonists Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova on Sunday led Czechia to the BJK Cup title with a 2-0 defeat of Ukraine in the Shenzhen final.
All England Club champion Noskova and her finalist compatriot both swept their singles matches to hand the nation a first trophy in the competition since winning what was formerly known as the Fed Cup in 2018.
Noskova clinched the title as she stopp WTA No. 7 Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6 (5), following on from Muchova’s defeat of Anhelina Kalinina 6-2, 6-3.
The Czechs lifted a 12th title in the event, which they dominated in the previous decade.
We have to fight for each match, I’m really glad that we didn’t ever have to go into doubles, the deciding match, which is always the most stressful one,” Noskova said.
“In this competition you never know who’s going to play how. It’s always very competitive. You have to be prepared for everything.”
Added Muchova: “It’s very special… a dream of mine to lift the trophy.
“I’m just so proud of us, how we manage whole week, how we fight, how we practice whole week, how we just have the vibe in the locker room.
“To win it is like a cherry on the top. I’m just so grateful it happened, that we can celebrate now.”
We have to fight for each match, I’m really glad that we didn’t ever have to go into doubles, the deciding match, which is always the most stressful one,” Noskova said.
“In this competition you never know who’s going to play how. It’s always very competitive. You have to be prepared for everything.”
Added Muchova: “It’s very special… a dream of mine to lift the trophy.
“I’m just so proud of us, how we manage whole week, how we fight, how we practice whole week, how we just have the vibe in the locker room.
“To win it is like a cherry on the top. I’m just so grateful it happened, that we can celebrate now.”
Elina Svitloina sent Ukraine into the BJK Cup final in China with a 6-2, 6-2 defeat of Jasmine Paolini on Saturday at what organisers bill as the “women’s Davis Cup” in China.
The victory in Shenzhen clinched a spot for war-torn Ukraine against Czechia in the title match to be staged on Sunday in the metropolis near Hong Kong.
Italy, a two-time defending champion also lost the day’s opening rubber as Anhelina Kalinina defeated Tyra Grant 6-3, 6-4.
Svitolina’s win counted as revenge for a loss she took to Paolini in the competition a year ago; she also ended a 10-match BJK win streak for the two-time Grand Slam champion from the south of Italy. .
“Just a really special moment for us, for Ukraine,” Svitolina said. “We are going through difficult times back home — all the people. It’s just unbelievable to get for the first time in a final.
“It was a really tough loss for me last year here,” she added after losing in 2025 from 4-2 up). I really had to be focused and really step up my game.”
The Czech are led in the final by Wimbledon winner Linda Noskova and runner-up Karolina Muchova while multiple Grand Slam champion Katerina Siniakova holds down the doubles duties.
Czechia owns 11 BJK (previously the Fed Cup) trophies, second only to the US with 18.
Main photo:- Elina Svitolina puts Ukraine into BJK final – by WTATennis.com
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