SHENZHEN, China – Japan’s women’s tennis team, without the injured Naomi Osaka, went out in the first round of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals on Thursday after losing two singles matches to Britain.
Seventh-ranked Japan failed to get a single set off second-ranked Britain as Ena Shibahara lost to Sonay Kartal 6-3, 7-6 (4) and Moyuka Uchijima fell to Katie Boulter 6-2, 6-1 in Shenzhen, China, where a best-of-three-matches format was in play.
“I wish I could restart the match,” said Shibahara after struggling with both her serves and groundstrokes before a fightback fell short in the second set.
The two defeats meant the doubles match, seen as “Japan’s strong point” by skipper Ai Sugiyama, was a dead rubber.
“A team doesn’t get stronger without the development of individuals,” she said. “I need to provide them impetus, too.”
Britain joined Italy, Ukraine and the United States in reaching the semifinals.