Italy survives China test to reach Billie Jean King Cup semifinals
The Italian tennis team is through to the semifinals of the Billie Jean King Cup after Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini won the decisive doubles rubber against China in Shenzhen. The Olympic champions defeated Guo Hanyu and Jiang Xinyu 6–3, 5–7, 6–3 to seal a 2–1 quarter-final victory for the reigning champions.
Italy will face Ukraine on Saturday, 26 September, for a place in the final.
How the tie unfolded
The day began badly for captain Tathiana Garbin's side. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, struggling physically, was swept aside 6–0, 6–2 by Shuai Zhang in the opening singles match, losing in exactly one hour.
Jasmine Paolini levelled the tie in the second rubber, beating Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng 6–3, 7–6. That result meant everything hinged on the doubles.
Errani and Paolini, playing their first doubles match together since June due to Paolini's injury problems, fell behind 2–4 in the decisive set against a Chinese pair backed by a vocal home crowd. They recovered to close out the win shortly before 1:00 a.m. local time.
Paolini, who played nearly four hours across singles and doubles, acknowledged the physical toll: "I don't know how the guys do it in the Slams. It was tough. You have to play after half an hour."
Captain's pride
Garbin told SuperTennis her players find something extra when representing Italy: "We are used to suffering. It has been a complex season for my players, but every time they put on the national team shirt it seems they have super powers."
Errani, competing in her eighth Billie Jean King Cup campaign, had said before the match that wearing the azzurro shirt remained "an honour, a privilege and also a dream."
Semifinal rematch against Ukraine
Ukraine awaits in the last four after they also won 2–1 against Belgium, despite Elina Svitolina's surprise defeat to Greet Minnen. Anhelina Kalinina proved decisive, winning both her singles match and the doubles.
Italy beat Ukraine 2–1 in the 2023 semifinal, though Marta Kostyuk is absent this year through a wrist injury. Kostyuk, an 11–3 singles record holder in this competition, is a significant loss for the Ukrainian side that reached the semifinals for the first time last year.
Garbin noted the change: "This year will be different, Kostyuk is missing, but this competition has hidden difficulties. I think we have to think about ourselves, to recover as quickly as possible."
The semifinal begins at 11:00 Italian time on Saturday, with the final scheduled for Sunday, 27 September.
