Charleroi 2006, Reggio Calabria 2009, San Diego 2010, Cagliari 2013, and now Malaga 2024: for the fifth time in its history, Italy has won the Billie Jean King Cup.

On the indoor hard court of the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena in Malaga, the team led by captain Tathiana Garbin, composed of Jasmine Paolini, Sara Errani, Lucia Bronzetti, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, and Martina Trevisan, after their historic semifinal victory over Poland, triumphed 2-0 over the surprising Slovakia, bringing the trophy back to Italy after 11 years. The last victory was in 2013, when the team led by Corrado Barazzutti defeated Russia 4-0 on the Sardinian clay courts.

In the first match on November 20, just two days after her debut in singles for Italy, Lucia Bronzetti was again called up to play. The Romagna native delivered a solid performance, despite a slight dip in concentration in the first half of the second set, winning 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and 23 minutes against Viktoria Hruncakova.

Then it was Jasmine Paolini who set off the Italian bench’s joy. Facing one of the most in-form opponents of recent weeks, Rebecca Sramkova, the Tuscan Olympian, a finalist at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, took control of the match early on. With just one break conceded, she easily closed the match 6-2, 6-1 in only one hour and six minutes.