It’s been a tough day for Team USA at the Billie Jean King Cup. Led by Jessica Pegula and backed by doubles ace Taylor Townsend, the most decorated nation in the competition reignited hopes of a record-extending 19th title and first since 2017. The stage was set for a high-stakes showdown with defending champions Italy. But things didn’t go according to plan. The Italians proved tougher, sharper, and impossible to shake. Still, Brad Gilbert might have something to lighten the mood!

Team Italy pulled off a historic win on Sunday, stunning the record 18-time champions, the United States, 2-0 to capture their sixth Billie Jean King Cup crown. The victory in Shenzhen cemented back-to-back titles for the Italians, with Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Jasmine Paolini both grabbing clutch singles wins. For Team USA, the wait drags on.

The mood was somber in the American camp as Jessica Pegula and her teammates looked dejected after the loss. But Brad Gilbert, who previously coached Coco Gauff, tried putting things into perspective. Taking to X, he wrote: “The amazing 🤩 thing about team competition @DavisCup @BJKCup @LaverCup you can throw rankings out the window 🪟 nervs and crowd can play a huge factor in unexpected results.” A jab or reassurance? Hard to tell. But one thing’s clear: Italy was fearless.

World No. 8 Paolini finally got her first win over Jessica Pegula in six tries, sealing it 6-4, 6-2. She broke with a blazing backhand in the opener and rallied from a wobble in the second set to finish strong. Arms raised, she joined her teammates in a victory dance as Italian and Chinese fans roared. “It’s been a really great week, and it’s always amazing to play in this competition… I just want to thank everybody, it was unbelievable,” she said.

Before that, Cocciaretto fired Italy ahead with a 6-4, 6-4 upset of Emma Navarro. “It was an unbelievable match for me,” said the world No. 91, who roared back from 2-4 down in the second. “I knew she’s a really great player and I had to play my best tennis… I’m really happy about the performance and the point I gave to Italy.”

Italy’s sixth crown comes in a golden stretch for the nation, with Davis Cup trophies and Grand Slam breakthroughs piling up. The U.S., meanwhile, hasn’t lifted the BJK Cup since that 2017 win in Minsk, when Sloane Stephens, Shelby Rogers, and CoCo Vandeweghe stopped a Belarus team led by Aryna Sabalenka. Pegula, Navarro, and doubles No. 1 Townsend powered them to this final after beating Kazakhstan and Great Britain, but the title slipped away again! Leaving only grit, a few laughs, and memories to take home.

Emma Navarro takes a dig at Jessica Pegula and Team USA

Just a few days earlier, though, Emma Navarro had been caught in a different kind of drama. Despite grinding out a clutch victory against Kazakhstan, she found herself overlooked. By Saturday, the 24-year-old flipped the script and grabbed the spotlight where it belonged.

In the quarterfinals, Navarro gutted out a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(6) win over Yulia Putintseva. Yet when she came back for her interview, the bench was empty. “Oh, my whole team left but I did have a great team of people sitting over here. I think they are gone now,” she said with a wry smile. Fast forward, and against Sonay Kartal, Navarro turned a shaky start into a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback. This time, her teammates were loud and clear in the stands.

She didn’t waste the moment. “My team is here. They heard about my outstanding interview, so they had to stay this time. I had to give them a lot of trash for leaving last time, but yeah they are here now so, best team in the world, let’s go!” Navarro grinned, after putting the U.S. up 1-0. Then came Jessica Pegula. Steady as ever, she raced past Katie Boulter to clinch a 2-0 win and punch the Americans’ ticket to the Billie Jean King Cup final.

But the fairytale stalled. Italy stormed to a third straight final and snatched its sixth title, while the Americans came up short once again. The Billie Jean King Cup, once the Fed Cup, is still the USA’s territory on paper with 18 titles, but the last came in 2017. Their previous final? 2018. This step forward counts, but the drought remains. Maybe next year they’ll finish the job. What do you think?