WTA
Seville (Spain)
Canada made national history in Seville, Spain on Sunday by winning its first Billie Jean King Cup title in sweeping fashion.
Marina Stakusic and Leylah Fernandez combined for two straight-sets singles wins against four-time champion Italy in the final tie, giving the Canadians an insurmountable 2-0 lead and their maiden championship at the preeminent women’s tennis team event.
Stakusic, an 18-year-old ranked No.258, started the day with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over 43rd-ranked Martina Trevisan. Fernandez followed up by besting Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-3 in a Top 40 showdown, clinching the trophy for her country.
The dominant display completes a stunning showing for Canada, whose previous best result at the Billie Jean King Cup had been a semifinal result 35 years ago in 1988.
But after finally making their semifinal return by beating Poland and home team Spain in group play, captain Heidi El Tabakh and her squad kept up their winning momentum in the knockout stages.
Saturday’s semifinal against 11-time champion Czech Republic went swimmingly as Fernandez notched upset wins in singles and doubles to propel Canada into their first final.
In Sunday’s final, Canada had to stare down two Top 50 players in Trevisan and Paolini, each of whom had gone a perfect 3-0 in singles play coming into the championship tie.
Italy also had a fairly recent legacy of Billie Jean King Cup success in their favor, having won their four titles in an eight-year span from 2006 to 2013.