Poland is hosting Switzerland and Ukraine in the round-robin qualifier, but Swiatek said Wednesday she made the "difficult decision" to skip it.

The last two finals were in Spain: in Seville in 2023 when Canada won, and Malaga in 2024 when Italy won.

Encouraging women—and also men—into other areas of tennis is vital to the growth of the sport, believes the trailblazer.

The recently-retired Frenchwoman took her own top prize for the way in which she honored her one-time rival's latest accomplishment.

Paolini led Italy to a 2-0 victory over the Slovaks, defeating Rebecca Sramkova to clinch her country's first team victory in over a decade.