Canada vs. Italy: Two teams of different destinies seeking Billie Jean King Cup title 

So rare is team play in tennis that when it does happen, a scent of hope fills the air: Might something of exceptional collective energy and emotional intensity take everyone from players to spectators on a magic carpet ride?

That’s indeed what’s occurred this week in Seville, Spain. Two nations have shown passion, precision and poise to reach the final of the Billie Jean King Cup. Come Sunday, each seeks to play out their own historic plotline.

Last year, Canada won the Davis Cup for the first time. Now, its women, making their debut in the Billie Jean King Cup finals, have a chance to further showcase that country’s excellence and lead us to explore if there’s a special Canadian attribute that helps tennis players soar in team sports environments. Said Canada’s lead player, Leylah Fernandez, “it's an amazing thing for Canadian tennis. I think for us as a country we have always been kind of labeled as a hockey nation, which is true, but we are also a tennis nation. There are a lot of tennis girls, boys that are playing, that are picking up a racquet and that are competing. I do know that they have big dreams, like all of us.”x

Italy seeks to earn the championship for the first time since 2013 and fifth overall. “What they have done it's something incredible,” said Italian captain Tathiana Garbin following her team’s semifinal win over Slovenia, “but as we say the other day, we are not satisfied. We want always going up and try to push ourself until the limit, and we try to dream again tomorrow.”

For the players, though, neither past nor future means little in the face of a high-pressure present. It’s fitting that this event is named for Billie Jean King, the iconic figure who coined what’s now a signature phrase, “pressure is a privilege.” For decades, back to her early years as a competitor and later when she co-founded World Team Tennis, King has often spoken about how much she favors collaboration over solo efforts.

Sunday afternoon, she’ll witness a player attempt something King would have loved pursuing. For the third year in a row, a single competitor can bring glory to her homeland and leave a major fingerprint on this event’s outcome. In 2022, Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic led her country to the title. Twelve months earlier, Liudmila Samsonova did the same for Russia. Back in 2017, when the United States last won, the MVP was CoCo Vandeweghe. In 2023, three players have that chance.

Italy’s two best, Martina Trevisan and Jasmine Paolini, each have yet to lose a singles match this week.  Most notable was Paolini clinching Italy’s opening match victory over France by beating former top tenner Caroline Garcia in a three-set thriller, 7-6 (8), 5-7, 6-4.

Fernandez has also gone undefeated. On Saturday, she had as great a day as any tennis player dare ask for. With Canada down 0-1, Fernandez overcame reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. Soon after, she partnered with Gabriela Dabrowski to take Canada to the finals with an upset win over seven-time Grand Slam winners Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, 7-5, 7-6 (3). “I'm just ecstatic,” said Fernandez. “Extremely proud of our team spirit, team effort.”

it's an amazing thing for Canadian tennis. I think for us as a country we have always been kind of labeled as a hockey nation, which is true, but we are also a tennis nation. Leylah Fernandez

An intriguing subplot for Sunday’s final: In the spring of 2022, at Roland Garros, Fernandez made her way to the quarterfinals and was beaten in three sets by her fellow lefty, the smooth and skilled Trevisan. Fernandez received treatment on her right foot during that match and soon after withdrew from Wimbledon. That’s the only time these two have played one another.

Fernandez is 2-0 against Paolini. Canada’s rookie singles player, 18-year-old Marina Stakusic, has gone 2-1 this week. Versus Spain in Canada’s opener, she kicked things off with a brisk 6-3, 6-1 win over Rebeka Masarova. A day later, Stakusic rallied from a set down to beat Poland’s Magdalena Frech in three sets. Stakusic has never played either of the Italians.

Then there’s the doubles. In two dead rubber doubles matches this week, Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto has gone 1-1 in decisive tiebreakers. The defeat took place alongside Trevisan versus the French team of Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, the win with Lucia Bronzetti over German duo Laura Siegemund and Anna-Lena Friedsam.

Canada’s doubles ace is Gabriela Dabrowski, a veteran campaigner who in the last two months has proven masterful on big occasions.  Highlights of Dabrowski’s recent excellence include a US Open title effort alongside Erin Routliffe, a run with Routliffe to the semis of the WTA Finals, and Saturday’s finale alongside Fernandez. Though Dabrowski won two dead rubber doubles matches with Eugenie Bouchard earlier this week, one suspects that if the competition comes down to one doubles match that she’ll again be paired with Fernandez.

Speaking after the win over Krejcikova and Siniakova, Dabrowski said, “I tried to do things that would make them uncomfortable and have to come up with shots that maybe they didn't want to have to come up with. But I thought they played probably some of the best tennis that they have played lately, and so I'm really grateful that Leylah was so present, even after, like, a really tough singles match. That's a lot to ask of someone, to come back within 30 minutes and play again.”

The intensity will be sky-high. Trevisan and Paolini showed plenty of it in their semifinal wins versus Slovenia. Versus Kaja Juvan in the day’s first match, Trevisan saved a set point in the first set tiebreaker to earn a 7-6 (6), 6-3 victory. Paolini then clinched it with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over Tamara Zidansek. Said Paolini, “I was happy also because it was finished because it was a roller coaster I think today. Yeah, I'm very happy for me, for my team. Yeah, I think we made an amazing job today.”

But no one figures to showcase her emotions more visibly than Fernandez. It's been refreshing to see Fernandez bring so much energy and execution to these matches. The former has always been present, but since the Trevisan loss and attendant injury, the latter has been less consistent than anticipated from someone who played such great tennis on her way to the 2021 US Open singles final.

“We definitely had a tough test for us,” said Fernandez following today’s semi, “but we were just super excited, motivated, and we wanted to put on a show.”

Given Fernandez’s desire to feed off the energy of the occasion and the crowd, she might indeed be one of those players who thrives most in the amplified environment of team play.