Paolini helps Italy defend BJK Cup title against US

Italy defended their Billie Jean King Cup title as Jasmine Paolini beat Jessica Pegula to wrap up a 2-0 victory over the United States.

The world number eight was in supreme form as she raced to a 6-4 6-2 victory in Shenzhen to secure Italy's sixth title.

Paolini is undefeated in singles and doubles at the BJK Cup this year and has lost just one of her previous 10 matches in the competition.

The 29-year-old was part of the Italian team that finished runners-up to Canada in 2023 before guiding them to their first title in 11 years against Slovakia last year.

"It's amazing, I didn't expect it," Paolini said.

"It's been a really great week and it's amazing to play this competition.

"They [United States] were very strong today. It was really tough."

World number 91 Elisabetta Cocciaretto earlier put Italy's first point on the board with a 6-4 6-4 win over Emma Navarro.

The 24-year-old battled from 4-2 down in the second set to beat world number 18 Navarro in just one hour and 19 minutes.

The United States, who knocked out Great Britain in the semi-finals on Saturday, were going for a record-extending 19th title in their first final since 2018.

They have not won the women's team tournament since 2017.

For Paolini, 2025 has not brought the same level of success as 2024, when she reached two Grand Slam singles finals and won Olympic doubles gold.

In singles, she exited all four Grand Slams before the quarter-final stage, but won the WTA 1000 event in Rome in front of a jubilant home crowd. She and compatriot Sara Errani also triumphed in the women's doubles at the French Open.

But Paolini has always shone when playing for her country - and this year was no different.

There was little to separate her from world number seven Pegula in a tense opening set but Paolini saved three break points at 4-4 before sealing the set two games later.

Pegula threatened a comeback in set two as she broke the Italian in the opening game but from there the error count crept up, and her frustrations bubbled over into racquet smashing and berating herself between points.

Paolini raced through the second set and looked like she would have the title settled as she served for the match at 5-1 but Pegula saved three match points to continue the contest.

But the former Wimbledon and French Open runner-up sealed victory in the next game to make it four wins in four matches this week in Shenzhen.