Jazz Up: Paolini Clinches Italy’s Sixth BJK Cup Championship Defeating Team USA

By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, September 21, 2025
Photo credit: Billie Jean King Cup Facebook

Jasmine Paolini lit up the lines to carry Italy across the finish line.

Two-time Slam finalist Paolini surged through eight of the final 10 games stopping Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-2 to give Italy an insurmountable 2-0 lead over the United States in today’s Billie Jean King Cup final at Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre Arena in Shenzhen, China.

Paolini completed an undefeated week in Shenzhen powering Italy to its sixth Billie Jean King Cup championship, including its second straight title.

Captain Tathiana Garbin’s team is the first nation to successfully defend the Billie Jean King Cup crown since Czechia in 2016.

“It’s even more special than last year,” Paolini said. “Honestly I didn’t expect this.”

Elisabetta Cocciaretto made an immediate impact to lift Italy to a 1-0 lead in today’s opener.

Cocciaretto broke in the opening game and was the aggressor throughout, defeating Emma Navarro 6-4, 6-4 to stake Italy to the lead.

“It was an unbelievable match for me,” said Cocciaretto in her on-court interview. “I know that I had to play my best tennis. 

“I’m really happy about the performance and the point that I gave to Italy.”

Navarro has made a habit of coming back from deficits throughout this Billie Jean King Cup competition and did it again opening a 4-2 second-set lead.

That was merely a prelude to Cocciaretto charging through four games in a row sealing a crucial victory in 89 minutes.

“She’s tough. She plays right up on the baseline and rushes you as much as she can,” Navarro said. “Kind of suffocates you sort of in the rallies. That was tough on me.

“I wasn’t able to push back against that enough. She made me uncomfortable. I don’t think I made her
nearly uncomfortable enough. Yeah, I think she also served well. I just didn’t bring a high enough level today.”

Team USA was seeking its 19th BJK Cup championship and Captain Lindsay Davenport had a confident Pegula up next in a battle of the teams’ top players.

World No. 7 Pegula took the court armed with a perfect 5-0 record vs. Paolini sweeping all 10 sets the pair had played.

None of that past history mattered much to Paolini, who saved the first break point of the match with a wide serve, eventually holding for 3-2.

Deadlocked at 4-all, Paolini rose up in a critical ninth game. 

Facing break point, Paolini prevailed in a crackling 29-shot rally lacing a forehand winner down the line to reach deuce. Paolini stood tall denying three break points in all in a furious 12-minute hold for 5-4.

That game drained Pegula, who sent a forehand wide to face her first break point—and set point—in the 10th game. Punctuating a 16-shot rally, Paolini punched a clean backhand winner down the line snatching a one-set lead in 48 minutes.

“I felt like the game at 4-All kind of dictated where the match was going to go,” Pegula said. “Then she
started playing some really good tennis in the second. I felt like in the first, I felt like I kind of had the edge for most of the set.

“But it’s tennis and unfortunately that doesn’t always mean that you win the set. So that was
unfortunate. To me, that kind of felt like the difference I think.”

Though Pegula broke to start the second set, Paolini responded with a love break sparking a run of five straight games for a 5-1 lead.

Digging in, Pegula saved three championship points to break back for 2-5.

On her fourth championship point, Paolini induced an errant backhand to close. The Italian squad swarmed Paolini in a celebratory group hug as champions again.