Canada on Sunday completed a team-tennis double as their women took the Billie Jean King (BJK) Cup for the first time, winning both singles rubbers to build an unassailable lead over Italy.
Canada’s men are the reigning Davis Cup champions after winning their first title in Malaga in November last year.
Eighteen-year-old Marina Stakusic opened the final in Seville with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Martina Trevisan, capping a stunning week for the rookie.
Photo: AFP
“We took a risk by selecting a young player, and it paid off,” Canada’s coach Nathalie Tauziat said.
Leylah Fernandez then beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-3, to spark jubilation from the Canadian team.
“I’m extremely happy, ecstatic,” Fernandez said.
Canada, captained by Heidi El Tabakh, became the 13th nation to win the Billie Jean King Cup and the second consecutive new champion after Switzerland won in Glasgow 12 months earlier.
Stakusic, ranked 258th in the world, beat three top 100 players this week, including Trevisan.
Fernandez defeated Czech Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the singles semi-finals rubber on Saturday before playing again in the decisive doubles, as she too shone in the south of Spain.
“Leylah played her role as leader and that made all the difference,” Tauziat said. “She prepares like a boxer, ready to enter the ring, to receive blows and to give them.”
Fernandez said the victory had taken time.
“You know, it’s the first time that Canada has ever won the Billie Jean King Cup. I can finally say this — we’re world champions, and we rightfully deserve it,” she said. “We worked really hard the past years, and, you know, I think every year, as I said before, we just keep improving.”
“It’s showing on the tennis court. It’s showing in competition, individual competitions. Now it has shown on the biggest stage in the world,” she added.
Italy continued their 10-year drought in the competition, known as the Fed Cup until 2020, having won the last of their four titles in 2013.
“It’s been a very tough week for me, mentally and of course physically,” Trevisan said. “We spent a lot of energy on court and of course out of the court. Maybe today my physical energy was, well, a little bit low. I’m a player that need to be very fast on court, and today I wasn’t too much — it wasn’t enough.”
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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