Jasmine Paolini and Italy beat Slovakia to win the Billie Jean King Cup

Two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini capped a breakthrough season by leading Italy to its first Billie Jean King Cup title since 2013 on Wednesday, defeating Rebecca Sramkova 6-2, 6-1 to seal a 2-0 victory over Slovakia in the final of the women's team competition.

When Paolini's win ended, she was joined on court by her teammates, and they embraced each other, then danced and sang along as the Gypsy Kings' version of Volare blared on the loudspeakers.

The No. 4-ranked Paolini was the runner-up at the French Open in June and at Wimbledon in July, making her the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 to get to the title matches at Roland Garros and the All England Club in the same season. Before this year, Paolini, who is 28, had lost in the first or second round in all 16 career appearances at majors.

She also teamed with Sara Errani to win a doubles gold medal at the Paris Olympics in August. They were lined up to play in the concluding match against Slovakia, but it wasn't needed because Italy clinched the best-of-three series by sweeping the two singles matches.

"Jasmine raised her level really high this year. …She's an example for all of us," said her teammate, 78th-ranked Lucia Bronzetti, who took Wednesday's opener by a 6-2, 6-4 score against Viktoria Hruncakova before a crowd that included International Tennis Hall of Famer and equal rights pioneer Billie Jean King herself.

WATCH | Paolini leads Italy to 1st Billie Jean King Cup title since 2013:

Sramkova falls to Paolini as Italy wins Billie Jean King Cup

Bronzetti called it an "honour" to compete in front of the woman for whom the event is named, saying, "She is a great person, a great legend."

Italy, which eliminated Iga Swiatek and Poland in