Billie Jean King Cup champions (Image from Billie Jean King Cup via X)Billie Jean King Cup champions (Image from Billie Jean King Cup via X)
Sarnia

Canada wins Billie Jean King Cup for the first time

It only took two out of singles matches for Team Canada to become the world champions.

The Canadian women won the 60th Billie Jean King (BJK) Cup on Sunday, in front of the woman herself.

The team was led by Heidi El Tabakh and consisted of Leylah Fernandez, Marina Stakusic, Rebecca Marino, Eugenie Bouchard, and Gabriela Dabrowski.

After defeating Spain, Poland, and Czechia the Canadians made it to the finals for the first time.

The women faced Italy in the finals, winning their matches handily. Stakusic of Mississauga, opened the best-of-three tie with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Martina Trevisan. Fernandez, 21, of Laval, Quebec then won 6-2, 6-3 over Jasmine Paolini.

It was the debut of 18-year-old Stakusic, who defeated three players all seeded in the top 65 in the world.

Fernandez went 8-0 in matches in the tournament, playing in both singles and doubles matches.

The win comes almost a year after the men's team won the Davis Cup, making Canada the eleventh country to have won both titles and only the second to hold both titles at the same time.

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