Billie Jean King Cup – Leylah Fernandez and Marina Stakusic lead Canada to glory against Italy

Canada won the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time in their history as they beat Italy 2-0 in the final on Sunday.

Victory was sealed with Leylah Fernandez’s triumph against Jasmine Paolini, taking them to an unassailable two-match advantage, rendering the doubles match scheduled to come a dead rubber.

Fernandez won 6-2 6-3 to triumph against her Italian rival, building on the early success from the in-form Canadian teenager, Marina Stakusic.

Stakusic won against the world No. 43 as she won yet again in Spain to prove herself one of the key figures of the tournament, and she more than earned her spot alongside Fernandez, Rebecca Marino, Eugenie Bouchard and Gabriela Dabrowski in a team captained by Heidi El Tabakh.