Doubles prowess powered the United States back into the Billie Jean King Cup semifinals.
Jessica Pegula and Taylor Townsend defeated Elena Rybakina and Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 7-6(1) clinching Team USA’s 2-1 victory over Kazakhstan in Thursday’s Billie Jean King Cup quarterfinals at Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre Arena in Shenzhen, China.
“We just raised our level, kind of just committed to the things we were doing before that were working,” Townsend said afterward. “We were just focused on doing the right things, having great energy.
“We had great energy on the sidelines from our team and Lindsay [Davenport] on the bench. That always helps a lot when there’s so much positivity flowing. We really had a great time out there. It feels great to get the win.”
Earlier, Emma Navarro delivered a heroic performance.
Navarro saved two match points in the third-set tiebreaker out-dueling the fiery Putintseva 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(6) in a marathon match to stake the United States to a 1-0 lead. Putintseva actually won two more points total (103 to 101), but Navarro hung tough and won the pivotal points in the third-set tiebreaker.
“I don’t know about a key, but maybe just a lot of grittiness and a lot of resilience and the pride of
playing with my country’s flag on my shirt, knowing the support I had from the sidelines, looking over and seeing my teammates cheering me on,” Navarro said after a determined effort. “There’s a different type of
energy when you can look over and see that. Yeah, I think a little bit of Team USA, a bit of team pride, and a lot of grittiness today.”
Former Wimbledon winner Rybakina ripped nine aces repelling Pegula 6-4, 6-1 to level the tie and force the decisive doubles match.
Captain Lindsay Davenport’s squad advanced to its first Billie Jean King Cup semifinal since 2021 where it will face Japan on Saturday at 5 a.m. Eastern time. That semifinal will be televised by Tennis Channel.
The last time the USA was in the semifinals was at the 2021 Finals event in Prague, where it lost to the eventual-champion Russian Tennis Federation. The American team’s last final appearance was in 2018, also in Prague vs. the Czech Republic in the old home-and-away format.
Italy will face Ukraine in the other semifinal set for 5 p.m. on Friday.
Billie Jean King Cup Results
Quarterfinals
USA 2, KAZAKHSTAN 1
Thursday, September 18
Emma Navarro (USA) d. Yulia Putintseva (KAZ), 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(6)
Elena Rybakina(KAZ) d. Jessica Pegula (USA), 6-4, 6-1
Pegula/Taylor Townsend (USA) d. Rybakina/Putintseva, 6-2, 7-6(1)
Next Match
Semifinals
USA v. JPN/GBR
Saturday, September 20 (5 p.m. local; 5 a.m. ET)
Singles A (USA No. 2 v. GBR/JPN No. 2)
Singles B (USA No. 1 v. GBR/JPN No. 1)
Doubles