Today at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals
Daily Media Bulletin – 21 September
ITALY CROWNED 2025 WORLD CHAMPIONS AFTER BILLIE JEAN KING CUP FINAL VICTORY OVER USA
Italy retained the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge title after an emphatic victory against USA in the final in Shenzhen on Sunday.
Elisabetta Cocciaretto recorded an upset victory over Emma Navarro to put the Italians ahead. Jasmine Paolini then maintained her perfect record this week with a win against Jessica Pegula to score the decisive point for Italy for the second consecutive year.
Captain Tathiana Garbin and her players were presented with the famous Billie Jean King Cup trophy by ITF President David Haggerty and Billie Jean King herself to an ecstatic reception on court. The team was also awarded the winners’ cheque for US$2 million in player prize money by Mike Nichols, Chief of Sponsorship Strategy and Activation at Gainbridge.
Following the trophy ceremony, the champions were each presented with a special edition ‘Billie Blue’ jacket, designed by Tory Burch. They become the fourth champions to win the jackets, following their introduction at the 2022 Finals in Glasgow.
Having now won six titles, Italy move clear of Russia and Spain in fourth place on the list for most Billie Jean King Cup titles – only USA (18 titles), Czechia (11) and Australia (seven) have won the competition more often. They are also the first team to win back-to-back Billie Jean King Cup titles since Czechia won 3 consecutive titles in 2014-16.
USA were contesting the Billie Jean King Cup final for the 31st time – but for the first time since 2018, when they finished as runners-up to Czechia in Prague.
Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini (ITA) v Hailey Baptiste/McCartney Kessler (USA) – not played
Team Italy win the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup title (photo credit: Getty Images for Billie Jean King Cup); access rights-free images via the ITF Virtual Media Centre (details below)
Jasmine Paolini (ITA): “It’s an unbelievable feeling. Today was a really tough match. We’re really happy and proud of ourself, of our team. It’s a great day for Italy.”
Captain Tathiana Garbin (ITA): “I’m really proud of my players. They play with passion, a lot of personality. All of them, they are a big part of the history.”
Jessica Pegula (USA): “We’ve had an awesome week here. It wasn’t the result that we wanted today. Just wasn’t our day today. I think at the same time we really enjoyed competing together, making it to a final, getting through a lot of challenges. Came up short today.”
Captain Lindsay Davenport (USA): “It’s been such a great week here. This event was really amazing to be played here in Shenzhen. We all enjoyed our time here. Obviously disappointed with how today went. Really happy this event has found such a great home and we look forward to being back.”
The ITF Virtual Media Centre includes, match statistics, press conference transcripts and rights-free images from this week’s Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals.
The Virtual Media Centre is a permanent, year-round platform which will be regularly updated with the latest match notes from major events, statistics, news, images and press releases covering all areas of the ITF’s work – from grassroots development to elite competition.
To access the platform, click the button below. First-time users will need to create an account.
The previous Billie Jean King Cup app has been replaced by an all-new World Cup of Tennis app, which will bring together both the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge and the Davis Cup. Download instructions below:
Existing Billie Jean King Cup app users on iPhone: Search ‘World Cup of Tennis’ or ‘Billie Jean King Cup’ in the App Store to download the update.
Existing Billie Jean King Cup app users on Android: Search ‘World Cup of Tennis’ or ‘Billie Jean King Cup’ in the Play Store to download the update.
New World Cup of Tennis app users: Search ‘World Cup of Tennis’ or ‘Billie Jean King Cup’ in the App Store (iPhone) or Play Store (Android) to download the new app.
New features include an enhanced home screen with quicker access to scores, streams and news, a more immersive and responsive tie centre for seamless navigation between live matches, along with general bug fixes and performance improvements.
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