After falling at the final hurdle in 2023, it’s a first Championship win of its kind since 2013 for Italy as Jasmine Paoloni and Lucia Bronzetti showed their class in back to back straight sets wins to overcome the Slovakian challenge.
The prestigious ‘Billie Jean King Cup’ has been in existence since 1963. Originally known as the Federation Cup, the tournament underwent a much welcomed rebrand in 2020, dedicating itself to a tennis trailblazer in Billie Jean King, the titular honouree who won the tournament a whopping ten times. The legend herself, there in attendance in sunny Malaga to witness the Italian team claim their fifth ‘BJK’ title as they stormed to a 2 – 0 victory under the roof at the Martin Carpena Arena.
The premiere action of the day came with Lucia Bronzetti taking on the opening match, facing the challenge of the Slovak, Viktoria Hruncakova. Slovakia, the dark horse of the tournament earned their place in the final with three upsets on the trot, leaving the title hopes of the USA, Australia and Great Britain in their wake. Back in Bratislava, tennis fans could be forgiven for dreaming of a fairytale ending for their nation.
But Bronzetti dashed those dreams with two sets of sublime play, hammering Hruncakova 6-2 in the first before seeing her out 6-4 in the second to serve up the chance for Jasmine Paolini to finish the job.
Ranked as the Italian No.1, it’s been quite the year for the Tuscan native. Losing singles finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon earlier in the year brought forth questions about her ability to get the job done on the grandest stages. A gold medal winning run to claim victory in doubles competition alongside ‘BJK Cup’ teammate Sara Errani at this Summer’s Olympics has been enough to answer those questions.
For too long, runner-up was a term the world No.10 knew all too well, also finding herself a part of that Italian team that lost in last year’s final. But with that gold-medal round her neck and a renewed sense of confidence, Paolini showed up and showed out, battling her opponent and demons of yester-year to overcome Rebecca Sramkova 6-2, 6-1. Commanding the court with bullish enthusiasm, the result was never in doubt.
Though previously citing difficulties with working under the pressure of the team format, Paolini showed her positive mindset with, “If we win, we win. If you lose, we accept that.” being the post-match assessment from the title winning player, perhaps easy to say when you already know the cup is coming home with you and your country-women.
Beating Japan and Poland on their way to the final, all five members of this Italian team played their part in the nation’s success. Though not featuring in the final, Sara Errani, Martina Trevisan and Elisabetta Cocciaretto all found themselves the new owner’s of deserved winner’s medals for 2024. As did their Captain, Tathiana Garbin, the now retired player who was recovering from surgery for a tumour just last year.
An emotional interview from Garbin spoke volumes to the character of her team, “I have all the team behind me, and that’s why on the bench, I try to give courage and to support them, because that is what they have done to me in the tough moments.”
On the court, Italy have shown themselves superior, for this year at least. With Jasmine Paolini sure to remain one of the world’s best for years to come and with more silverware likely to come her way, the future is bright for Italian tennis fans.
But off the court, the words of Tathiana Garbin told us that for her and her team, this victory means much more than just a trophy. Joyous are the team that rallied around their Captain in her darkest hour, all the while, winning the tournament that eluded them and their nation, for eleven long years.