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Denis Shapovalov, Bianca Andreescu, and several others from the tennis world shared their delight at the Leylah Fernandez-led Canadian team's first-ever Billie Jean King Cup title.
Canada faced four-time champions Italy in the final on Sunday, November 12. Marina Stakusic claimed a 7-5, 6-3 win against Martina Trevisan early in the day before Fernandez defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-3. With an unassailable 2-0 lead, the Canadians cruised to a first-ever title win in the competition's 60-year history.
Felicitations poured in from fellow Canadians across both the WTA and ATP tours. Shapovalov shared his excitement on X (formerly Twitter), congratulating everyone involved.
"So pumped for Team Canada winning @BJKCup for the first time!!! WORLD CHAMPIONS!! Congrats to everyone involved," the Canadian wrote.
Meanwhile, former World No. 4 Andreescu took to Instagram to write:
"Sooooo amazinggggg"
Felix Auger-Aliassime extended his appreciation to the "girls" for making history.
"Canada on top. Congrats girls on making history," Auger-Aliassime wrote on Instagram.
Billie Jean King, the 12-time Grand Slam champion after whom the tournament is named, also congratulated the team on their maiden title.
"Congratulations to Team Canada, winners of the BJK Cup for the first time," King wrote on X.
Here are a few other reactions from current and former players on Canada's historic win:
"Extremely proud" - Leylah Fernandez on representing Team Canada at the Billie Jean King Cup
Leylah Fernandez was ecstatic after winning a maiden title for Canada at the Billie Jean King Cup. During the on-court interview, the 21-year-old stated that she was "extremely proud" to have represented her home nation on such a big occasion.
"It feels amazing. I am extremely proud that I was able to represent Canada on the biggest stage," Leylah Fernandez stated.
Fernandez maintained that it was special to have achieved the same in front of the legendary Billie Jean King.
"To do it in front of Billie Jean means the world to me, to us, and hopefully we can keep going and celebrate tonight," she added.
Meanwhile, Marina Stakusic reflected on how much the win meant for Canadian tennis.
"It obviously means so much for Canadian tennis and for all of us. It's been such an honor being part of this team," Stakusic said.
Leylah Fernandez competed at the Jiangxi Open before her impressive run at the Billie Jean King Cup. She claimed straight-sets wins against Hanyu Guo, You Xiaodi, and Aliaksandra Sasnovich before falling 5-7, 4-6 to Katerina Siniakova in the semifinals.
