Canadian women won the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time, thanks to Leylah Fernandez's consecutive sets victory (6-2, 6-3) over Italian Jasmine Paolini today Sunday at the International Tennis Team Championship held in Seville, Spain.

Two hours before that, Marina Stakusic from Mississauga, Ontario, opened the best of three matches with a win over Martina Trevisan 7-5 and 6-3.

Fernandez, who hails from Laval, Quebec, won all five of her matches this week. She helped Canada qualify for the final by winning 7-5 and 7-6 (3) with her doubles partner Gabriela Dabrowski against Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova from the Czech Republic in the semifinal on Saturday.

Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said: "I don’t know what to say." "I’m very proud of this team, these girls are amazing," "it’s a dream come true."

Last November, Felix Auger-Aliassime led Canada to win its first Davis Cup title in the long history of the premier men’s team tennis event.

The Canadian team will receive a prize money of $2.4 million USD for their win on Sunday, a record amount for the women’s team event formerly known as the Federation Cup.

Stakusic, the almost unknown rising player in the Billie Jean Cup, made headlines early in the tournament. Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh chose her over the more experienced Rebecca Marino (ranked 176) and Eugenie Bouchard (273) in the team’s first match on Wednesday, and she won against the 65th-ranked Rebecca Masarova 6-3 and 6-1.
A day later, Stakusic defeated Poland’s Magdalena Frech, ranked 63, with a score of 4-6, 7-5, and 6-3 to qualify Canada for the semifinals for the first time in 35 years.

She delivered a nerve-wracking performance on Sunday to overcome a 43rd-ranked competitor.

Only when victory was within her reach, Stakusic faltered as she lost four match points while Trevisan was serving with the score at 2-5.

But she ignored this disappointment, held her next service game, and finished the match with a strong forehand.

Stakusic, who has not played any main draw match in the Women’s Tennis Association this year, said: "I am very happy and honored to be able to play this week, this has been the best week of my life."