The United States, the most successful nation in Billie Jean King Cup history, advanced to this year’s semifinals with a 2-1 win over Kazakhstan in Thursday’s first quarterfinal.
After splitting the opening singles matches, the tie came down to the doubles rubber — the first of this week’s quarterfinals to be decided by doubles.
Navarro saves two match points in thriller against Putintseva
In the opening match, world No. 18 Emma Navarro faced world No. 61 Yulia Putintseva. The American dropped an early break but recovered to take the first set 7-5. Putintseva responded with her trademark variety, unsettling Navarro to win the second set 6-2 before breaking early to lead 2-0 in the third.
Navarro rallied to level the decider, forcing a tiebreak. At 6-4 in the tiebreak, Putintseva held two match points, but the 24-year-old American held her nerve and reeled off four straight points to seal a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (6) victory in 2 hours, 31 minutes, giving the Americans a 1-0 lead.
Rybakina levels tie with dominant win over Pegula
With Kazakhstan needing a response, former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina took on U.S. Open semi-finalist Jessica Pegula in a battle of top-10 players.
Rybakina raced to a 4-1 lead before Pegula clawed back to 4-4 in the first set. From there, Rybakina seized control, winning eight of the next nine games to claim a 6-4, 6-1 win in just over an hour and level the tie at 1-1.
Pegula/ Townsend clinch doubles to seal semifinal spot
In the winner-takes-all doubles, the United States paired Pegula with world No. 1 doubles player Taylor Townsend while Kazakhstan fielded Rybakina and Putintseva.
The Americans started fast, taking the opening set 6-2. The Kazakh duo surged ahead 4-1 in the second, but Pegula and Townsend fought back to 4-4, then saved two set points in the 12th game to force a tiebreak. They dominated the tiebreak to close out a 6-2, 7-6 (1) win and secure the United States’ place in the semifinals.
U.S. to face winner of Great Britain-Japan tie
The Americans, chasing their first title since 2017. will meet the winner of the Great Britain–Japan quarterfinal, scheduled later on Thursday. Both nations are chasing their first BJK Cup title and are without their top-ranked stars, with Emma Raducanu (Britain) and Naomi Osaka (Japan) unavailable. Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal lead Britain, while Moyuka Uchijima and Ena Shibahara front the Japanese team.
Earlier in the week, five-time champion Italy and Ukraine – seeking its first title – advanced to Friday’s semifinal with 2-0 wins over China and Spain, respectively.