Jasmine Paolini "crazy year" had a "dream" finish on Wednesday in Malaga, Spain as the world No. 4 steered Italy to its first Billie Jean King Cup title since 2013 with a 2-0 victory over Slovakia.
Paolini posted a 4-1 record in the competition in Italy's three wins at the eight-team Billie Jean King Cup Finals, only losing an epic 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 match to Iga Swiatek in the semifinals against Poland--though she went into the match having lost all six of her previous sets with Swiatek, only winning nine comebined games. But she and Sara Errani nonetheless ended Poland's hopes of playing for the trophy for the first time in its history with a 7-5, 7-5 win in the deciding doubles over Swiatek and Katarzyna Kawa.
Against Slovakia, which had defeated the United States, Australia and Great Britain en route to its first final since winning the competition in 2002, Lucia Bronzetti started proceedings with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Viktoria Hruncakova, setting the stage for Paolini's clinching win over the revelatory Rebecca Sramkova, one of the most in-form players of the season's final months.
Sramkova, who won her first WTA singles title and reached two other finals in five events played after the US Open, had defeated Danielle Collins, Ajla Tomljanovic and Katie Boulter to get underdogs Slovakia on the precipice of an improbable title, but the world No. 43 was no match for another inspired effort from Paolini.
The Italian needed just 65 minutes to secure a 6-2, 6-1 win and Italy's fifth all-time Billie Jean King Cup.
“It’s a crazy year," Paolini said post-match. "To finish like this with a title in Billie Jean King Cup, it’s amazing; I don’t have words to describe it. I’m trying just to enjoy every moment. It’s important to understand where you are, I feel lucky to be in this position, in this team. I think we played unbelievable this week.
“Today, I was repeating to myself you’re going to give 100%. If we win we win, if you lose we accept that. I fight for every ball."
One of the stories of the 2024 season, Paolini began the year, in earnest, outside the Top 30 but finished it as a Top 5 player after winning her first WTA 1000 crown in February in Dubai, and reaching the singles final at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The 28-year-old emerged as a dual threat in doubles with Errani, too, as the pair won four titles including the Olympic gold medal in Paris, and was also runner-up at Roland Garros.
It was a run no one, not the least of which Paolini herself, predicted. But it was a ride she enjoyed every minute of.
"Impossible," she said when asked to sum up the year. "This year was crazy, and to finish like that, it's a dream."
