Italy’s 16 & Under girls’ team has won its first Helvetie Cup title in 34 years, ending Spanish hopes of a first ever win in this age category.
Forced to play indoors on the final day due to rain, the main protagonists picked up where they left off at the European Junior Championships last week. Camilla Rosatello, who beat three seeds on her way to the semi finals in Moscow, gave the Italians an early lead thanks to a three-set win over Spanish #2 Miriam Civera Lima.
Sara Sorribes Tormo avenged a European Championships final loss to Jade Suvrijn of France during the qualifying rounds, and ensured that she would remain unbeaten in singles action by cruising past Giulia Pairone 6-2 6-4 to set up a decisive doubles match.
The Spaniards drafted in the rested Miriam Rosell Canudas for the doubles alongside Sorribes Tormo against Rosatello & Pairone. However, the Italian coach Tathiana Garbin knows a thing or two about doubles tactics, having won 11 WTA Tour titles during her career, and her team members duly did her proud, weathering the loss of the second set to ride out as 6-3 4-6 6-3 winners.
The biggest surprise of the competition came during the qualifying rounds, as Poland knocked out two-time defending champions with an emphatic 3-0 win. At the final rounds, Spain upset top seeds Czech Republic in semi finals, whilst Great Britain accounted for second seeds Romania before falling to Italy.
The win marks just the second time that Italy’s 16 & Under team has won this title, with the previous occasion coming at the inaugural event in 1977.
The final ranking from Leysin can be found below. The event also serves as the European qualifying competition for the Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas. The top six teams (marked in bold) have clinched spots at the final rounds of the Junior Davis Cup in San Luis Potosi in Mexico in September.
Final Standings
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ITALY
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SPAIN
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CZECH REPUBLIC
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GREAT BRITAIN
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GERMANY
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ROMANIA
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POLAND
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FRANCE
Draws, Results & Photos
Qualifying
Zone A - Rakovnik (CZE) | Nominations | Draw | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Photos
Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Great Britain, Moldova, Slovenia
Zone B - Mesagne (ITA) | Nominations | Draw | Day 1 | Day 2 | Photos
Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia
Zone C - Curtea de Arges (ROU) | Nominations | Draw | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Photos
Belarus, Germany, Greece, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Sweden
Zone D - Denizli (TUR) | Nominations | Draw | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
Belgium, Estonia, France, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine
Finals - Leysin (SUI) | Nominations | Draw | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Photos