United States beaten by Italy in 2025 Billie Jean King Cup final: 'We're looking to build'
Led by Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro in Shenzhen, China, the United States made its best Billie Jean King Cup run since 2018 but fell to defending champions Italy in Sunday's final.
Pegula dropped a 6-4, 6-2 decision against world No. 8 Jasmine Paolini after Navarro was turned back, 6-4, 6-4, by Elisabetta Cocciaretto as Italy won its sixth title in the competition. The U.S. was seeking to add to its record 18 titles, with the last one coming in 2017.
"We've had an awesome week here," Pegula reflected, after the U.S. beat Kazakhstan and swept Great Britain to reach the final. "It wasn't the result that we wanted today. Just wasn't our day today. I think at the same time we really enjoyed competing together, making it to a final, getting through a lot of challenges. Came up short today.
"All in all I think we're looking to kind of build off this week."
Navarro also looked back fondly on the week with her teammates, while looking forward to playing for the trophy again: "I've had a blast spending time with everyone on the team. It's been a privilege to be able to have this opportunity to play for the U.S.," she said.
"Yeah, I'm incredibly grateful to have had this opportunity. It just makes me excited to come back and try to win this thing next year or in years to come."
The American team will next compete in a home-and-away qualifier in 2026 against an opponent and at a location to be determined.
The United States Billie Jean King Cup team with their silver medals. Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images for Billie Jean King Cup.
Pegula notched a win in singles and doubles this week for the U.S. Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images for Billie Jean King Cup.
Navarro went 2-1 in singles action in Shenzhen. Photo by Zhe Ji/Getty Images for Billie Jean King Cup.
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"We'll just keep trying," said second-year captain Lindsay Davenport. "We'll get another chance hopefully next year to be back here in Shenzhen. We'll hopefully learn from today. Hopefully these players go on to play great in the rest of the year. I look forward to watching the year play out for all the Americans."
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