By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, April 11, 2026
Photograph credit score: Billie Jean King Cup Fb
Few gamers can throw events with the festive zeal of Jasmine Paolini.
Seven months in the past, Paolini defeated Jessica Pegula to clinch Italy’s second straight Billie Jean King Cup championship in Shenzhen.
As we speak, Paolini and doubles companion Sara Errani despatched six-time champion Italy again to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals..
Errani and Paolini defeated Eri Hozumi and Shuko Aoyama 6-2, 7-5 clinching Italy’s 3-1 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier win over Japan on the purple clay of Velletri, Italy.
Captain Tathiana Garbin’s crew turned the primary nation to efficiently defend the Billie Jean King Cup crown since Czechia in 2016 with its title run final yr. This September, Italy will lead an eight-team Billie Jean King Cup Finals area that features: Belgium, China, Nice Britain, Kazakhstan, Spain and Ukraine.
Right here’s a recap of this weekend’s Billie Jean King Cup Qualifying tie outcomes.
Italy 3, Japan 1
at ASD Colle degli Dei, Velletri, Italy on outside clay
Match 1: Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA) d. Moyuka Uchijima (JPN) 7-5, 6-2
Match 2: Jasmine Paolini (ITA) d. Himeno Sakatsume (JPN) 6-3, 6-1
Match 3: Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini (ITA) d. Eri Hozumi/Shuko Aoyama (JPN) 6-2, 7-5
Match 4: Himeno Sakatsume (JPN) d. Lucia Bronzetti (ITA) 7-6(4), 6-2.
Two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini accounted for 2 of Italy’s three wins sending the six-time BJK Cup champion Italians again to the Finals.
Belgium 3, United States 1
at Coretec Dome in Ostend, Belgium on indoor clay
Match 1: Hanne Vandewinkel (BEL) d. Iva Jovic (USA) 7-6(3), 6-3
Match 2: Elise Mertens (BEL) d. McCartney Kessler (USA) 7-6(3), 2-6, 3-3, Retired
Match 3: Caty McNally/Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) d. Elise Mertens/Magali Kempen (BEL) 6-4, 6-2
Match 4: Greet Minnen (BEL) d. Iva Jovic (USA) 7-5, 6-3.
Coming off a hard-court Challenger remaining final week, world No. 143 Greet Minnen beat 18-year-old American Iva Jovic to guide Belgium a spot within the elite eight.
Nice Britain 3, Australia 1
at John Cain Enviornment, Melbourne, Australia on outside arduous courtroom
Match 1: Mika Stojsavljevic (GBR) d. Talia Gibson (AUS) 7-6(4), 7-5
Match 2: Harriet Dart (GBR) d. Kimberly Birrell (AUS) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Match 3: Jodie Anna Burrage/Harriet Dart (GBR) d. Storm Hunter/Ellen Perez (AUS) 6-3, 6-4
Match 4: Emerson Jones (AUS) d. Katie Swan (GBR) 7-5, 6-3
Harriet Dart rallied from a set all the way down to beat Kimberly Birrell in opening-day singles then partnered with Jodie Burrage sweeping doubles to ship the Brits into the Finals regardless of the very fact it performed with out Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal.
Kazakhstan 3, Canada 1
at Beeline Enviornment, Astana, Kazakhstan on indoor clay
Match 1: Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) d. Kayla Cross (CAN) 6-3, 7-5
Match 2: Bianca Andreescu (CAN) d. Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (KAZ) 6-4, 7-6(6)
Match 3: Anna Danilina/Zhibek Kulambayeva (KAZ) d. Kayla Cross/Bianca Andreescu (CAN)
Match 4: Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) d. Bianca Andreescu (CAN) 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(4)
In a 3 hour, 39-minute epic, Yulia Putintseva outlasted 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu to clinch Kazakhstan’s journey to the Ultimate eight. It was Putintseva’s second win of the weekend and her twenty third profession BJK Cup victory.
Ukraine 4, Poland 0
at PreZero Enviornment, Gliwice, Poland on indoor clay
Match 1: Marta Kostyuk (UKR) d. Magda Linette (POL) 6-4, 6-0
Match 2: Elina Svitolina (UKR) d. Katarzyna Kawa (POL) 6-2, 6-1
Match 3: Lyudmyla Kichenok/Nadiia Kichenok (UKR) d. Maja Chwalinska/Martyna Kubka (POL) 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-3
Match 4: Oleksandra Oliynykova (UKR) d. Linda Klimovicova (POL) 6-4, 6-1
Twin sisters Lyudmyla Kichenok and Nadiia Kichenok received a tense doubles match as Ukraine powered into its second straight Billie Jean King Cup Finals, successful eight of 9 units performed over this weekend.
Spain 3, Slovenia 1
at Tennis Middle Portoroz, Portoroz, Slovenia on outside clay
Match 1: Kaitlin Quevedo (ESP) d. Tamara Zidansek (SLO) 4-6, 6-2, Retired
Match 2: Veronika Erjavec (SLO) d. Leyre Romero Gormaz (ESP) 6-4, 6-3
Match 3: Aliona Bolsova/Sara Sorribes Tormo (ESP) d. Veronika Erjavec/Nika Radisic (SLO) 6-4, 6-3
Match 4: Kaitlin Quevedo (ESP) d. Veronika Erjavec (SLO) 7-6(4), 6-2.
The 20-year-old BJK debutant Kaitlin Quevedo carried Spain to the Finals with a pair of singles victories.
