Jasmine Paolini & Sara Errani Lead Italy to BJK Cup Final

Jasmine Paolini and Italy secured their second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup final appearance with a 2-1 victory over Poland, thanks to a decisive doubles win. In the match held in Malaga, Paolini and Sara Errani defeated Iga Swiatek and Katarzyna Kawa 7-5, 7-5, after staging a dramatic second-set comeback. Earlier, Swiatek kept Poland’s hopes alive by defeating Paolini in a hard-fought singles match, winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

This marked the first set Paolini had taken from Swiatek in their four encounters. Before that, Lucia Bronzetti put Italy ahead with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) win over Poland’s Magda Linette ranked 40 places higher. In the deciding doubles match, Paolini and Errani, who won Olympic gold together in Paris earlier this year displayed great resilience. After saving three set points in the first set, they broke the Polish pair’s serve and clinched the set.

In the second set, after initially falling behind 5-1, the Italians mounted a stunning comeback winning five consecutive games to serve for the match. They sealed the victory at the first opportunity securing Italy’s place in the final. Italy, who lost to Canada in last year’s final will now face the winner of the semi-final between Great Britain and Slovakia to determine their 2024 opponents.

The final will take place on Wednesday at 16:00 GMT. Jasmine Paolini, reflecting on the intense match, said, “You have to give everything for Italy, for my team. I found the energy, and I’m really happy.”