JOIN USVinci lost 6-4, 6-2 to Vera Zvonareva as Russia powered to their first Fed Cup final in three years with a 5-0 drubbing while in the other semifinal Czech Republic beat Belgium 3-2 thanks to a last rubber win in the doubles.
Schiavone skipped the semifinal tie to concentrate on the defence of her French Open title while Pennetta was ruled out with a shoulder injury, leaving the three-times champions with only a slim chance.
The Russians, with world number three Zvonareva and former US and French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova leading the charge, had been the overwhelming favourites. Russia, who won the women's team competition four times between 2004 and 2008, will host the Czechs in November.
Zvonareva had little sympathy for the holders and after crushing Errani 6-0, 6-2 in Saturday's opener was just as dominant on Sunday. She broke Vinci in the ninth game for a 5-4 lead before serving out the first set then going on to seal a comfortable victory after 74 minutes. "It was a very emotional win for me," Zvonareva said.
Cheered on by a sparse home crowd, Zvonareva was never really troubled by Vinci but paid tribute to her opponent. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, replacing Kuznetsova for the last singles, edged out Errani 7-6, 7-6 before teaming up with Ekaterina Makarova to beat Alberta Brianti and Maria-Elena Camerin 7-6, 6-1 and complete the whitewash.
The Czechs, in their first final since they won the title in 1988 as Czechoslovakia having lost in the semifinals the last two years, had doubles pair Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova to thank for a 6-4, 6-4 final rubber victory.
Their opponents Kirsten Flipkens, who beat Zahlavova Strycova earlier on Sunday to put the tie in the balance at 2-2, and Yanina Wickmayer who lost to Petra Kvitova in the day's opener, were broken late in both sets to concede the tie.