Defending champion Italy booked its place in the Billie Jean King Cup semifinals by defeating host China 2-0 after world number eight Jasmine Paolini battled past Wang Xinyu 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 in Shenzhen on Tuesday.
Earlier, Elisabetta Cocciaretto produced a gritty comeback to edge out Yuan Yue 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, rallying from a set and 2-5 down and 0-4 behind in the decider to give Italy the opening point. Both matches lasted nearly three hours.
Paolini had looked on the brink of defeat when trailing 3-5 in the second set, but the Italian broke back and dominated the tiebreak before withstanding a third-set surge from Wang to seal victory.
Italy next plays the winner of Wednesday’s quarterfinal between five-time champion Spain and Ukraine.
Published on Sep 16, 2025
