AFTER suffering a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Canada 12 months ago, Italy has transformed from bridesmaid to the bride with a 2-0 victory over Slovakia in the Billie Jean King (BJK) Cup overnight. Winning both the singles matches meaning there was no requirement to play the doubles, Italy showed it was the team to beat all tournament, only dropping two matches en route to the title.

The Italian team was spearheaded by world number four Jasmine Paolini who only dropped one match all tournament – to former number one Iga Swiatek in three sets – while taking on the doubles tie with regular partner Sara Errani. In the final, Paolini had the luxury of closing out the tie and the title, rather than having to save it after compatriot Lucia Bronzetti defeated Viktoria Hruncakova in straight sets earlier in the tie.

While Bronzetti’s victory over Hruncakova meant she finished the tournament with an unbeaten 2-0 record, Paolini was able to secure a 4-1 win-loss effort from her three matches. The 2023 runners-up were able to go one better this year with four of the five players from last year in the team. They added 37-year-old Errani who broke the record of the longest drought between BJK Cup titles, having won with a completely different set of teammates back in 2013.

Despite Slovakian number one singles player Rebecca Sramkova coming in with some terrific form, Paolini put her away with ease. She only dropped three games in a 6-2 6-1 demolition job to seal the overall victory and allow her compatriots to celebrate.

“Unbelievable year,” Paolini said after an incredible season which saw her rise to fourth in the world. “It’s a crazy year, I don’t know to finish like this with a title in Billie Jean King Cup it’s amazing, I don’t have words to describe it. I’m trying just to enjoy every moment. It’s important to understand where you are, I feel lucky to be in this position, in this team. I think we played unbelievable this week.

“Today I was repeating to myself you’re going to give 100 per cent. If we win we win, if you lose we accept that. ” fight for every ball.”

Italian captain Tathiana Garbin said she was incredibly “proud” of the players resilience after the 2023 disappointment.

“I came here this year, and for me was a gift, because as you know, last year was a difficult moment,” she said. “But I have all the team behind me, and that’s why on the bench [I] try to give courage and to support them, because is what they have done to me in the tough moments. I’m very proud of these girls, these human beings, not just the champions they are. They are really a great team.”

For Hrunkacova and the rest of the Slovakian team, while naturally disappointed, they could hold their heads high after beating much larger nations on their way to the final.

“For now, these emotions are a little bit sad, but I think we need to look at the whole thing, the whole picture, and what we did here,” Hruncakova said.

“It’s absolutely amazing, and I think we need couple hours, maybe couple days to actually realise it. We’re all gonna realise that this was something before the tournament, if someone would tell this to us, we would be thrilled.”