ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Paolini seals victory as Italy dominates US to retain BJK Cup crown

Paolini seals victory as Italy dominates US to retain BJK Cup crown

Published Sep 22, 2025 09:08 am

At A Glance

  • SHENZHEN, China (AP) — Jasmine Paolini beat Jessica Pegula on the fourth match point as defending champion Italy won the Billie Jean King Cup with a comprehensive victory over the United States on Sunday, Sept. 21.
Italy's tennis team celebrate with the trophy on podium after winning the Billie Jean King Cup final against the United States, at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center Arena, in Shenzhen, China's Guangdong province, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Italy's tennis team celebrate with the trophy on podium after winning the Billie Jean King Cup final against the United States, at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center Arena, in Shenzhen, China's Guangdong province, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
SHENZHEN, China (AP) — Jasmine Paolini beat Jessica Pegula on the fourth match point as defending champion Italy won the Billie Jean King Cup with a comprehensive victory over the United States on Sunday, Sept. 21.
Italy won both singles ties in straight sets, meaning there was no need for a decisive doubles match. The No. 8-ranked Paolini beat seventh-ranked Pegula, 6-4, 6-2, after No. 91 Elisabetta Cocciaretto won 6-4, 6-4 against Emma Navarro, breaking her serve three times.
Paolini broke Pegula's serve with a two-hand backhand down the line to take the first set and move Italy closer to success at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center Arena in China.
But with Paolini serving for the match at 5-1 she wavered a little. Pegula saved three match points and then two unforced errors from Paolini allowed Pegula to break back to 5-2 down.
A strong looping forehand gave Paolini — the runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon last year — a fourth match point and she took it, clinching victory when Pegula's two-handed backhand clipped the net and landed wide.
Paolini raised her arms in the air, then walked over to hug her teammates. All the staff members joined them on the court as they danced in a circle before celebrating with blue-shirted, flag-waving Italy fans.
Pegula and Navarro each came from a set down to defeat Britain and reach the final.
But not this time.
Italy boasted a doubles pairing of Olympic champions Paolini and Sara Errani, who also won the French Open doubles together this year. They would have faced Pegula and top-ranked doubles player Taylor Townsend in what might have been an exciting trophy decider.
The BJK Cup was formerly known as the Fed Cup, and the United States is the most successful team as an 18-time winner, but not since 2017.
Italy was contesting its third straight final and clinched its sixth title. The Americans’ previous final came in 2018.

Related Tags

Billie Jean King Cup Jasmine Paolini Italy
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.