Italy beats Slovakia for first Billie Jean Cup title since 2013

Field Level Media|published: Wed 20th November, 20:07 2024

Aug 29, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; Jasmine Paolini of Italy in action against Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan on day six of the 2024 U.S. Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images

Jasmine Paolini defeated Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova in straight sets on Wednesday to secure Italy's first Billie Jean King Cup championship in 11 years in Malaga, Spain.

Paolini's 6-2, 6-1 triumph in 66 minutes over Sramkova came after Lucia Bronzetti dispatched Viktoria Hruncakova 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 23 minutes. The Italians redeemed themselves after falling to Canada in last year's final.

Bronzetti quickly pulled away from Hruncakova after three competitive games in the first set. She converted 6 of 9 break points overall and committed eight fewer unforced errors (26-18) than Hruncakova to set it up for Paolini, who had little trouble finishing off the underdog Slovakians.

The World No. 4 won 71 percent of her first serve points (22 of 31) and faced just two break points, saving one of them. Sramkova's 28 unforced errors proved too much to overcome as Paolini atoned for her loss to Canada's Leylah Fernandez 12 months ago and clinched Italy's fifth Billie Jean King Cup title and first since 2013. Sara Errani, 37, was a member of both championship teams.

Slovakia last won the title in 2002.

--Field Level Media