Elena Rybakina and Kazakhstan have fallen just short of upsetting the USA at the Billie Jean King Cup.
The USA won the first-ever Billie Jean King Cup, and are the most successful nation in the event’s history.
But they haven’t enjoyed recent success at the Billie Jean King Cup, with the current team now looking to buck that trend.
They’ve just reached the semifinals of the tournament for the first time since 2021, having defeated Kazakhstan 2-1 in the quarterfinals.
The USA took a 1-0 lead after Emma Navarro beat Yulia Putintseva, but Rybakina then levelled the tie by beating Jessica Pegula.
Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images for Billie Jean King CupElena Rybakina offers key reason why Kazakhstan lost to the USA at the Billie Jean King Cup
Pegula recovered in the winner-takes-all doubles clash, partnering with Taylor Townsend to defeat Rybakina and Putintseva.
Giving her verdict on what made the difference in that all-important doubles match, Rybakina said afterwards: “Well, I think that they are a little bit more experienced, I would say that’s for sure.
“I think we played really well. It was pretty close. I had some little chances. But again, they’re a strong team. I think we did pretty well today. Hopefully next time it’s going to go our way.”
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And when asked about the support Kazakhstan received at the event, she said: “Yeah, it’s really nice to see so many fans. Really grateful for the support.
“It was a nice atmosphere. I just didn’t have time after singles to spend a bit of time, so I did it after doubles. Definitely they supported us a lot. It’s great.”
How Elena Rybakina felt about playing singles then doubles at the Billie Jean King Cup
Rybakina boasts plenty of doubles experience in her superb career so far, which includes reaching the 2021 French Open quarterfinals.
But she’s focused the majority of her efforts on her singles career, which includes winning Wimbledon in 2022.
She has nine WTA titles to her name and has reached third in the world rankings, and currently occupies 10th place.
Offering her take on playing singles then doubles at the Billie Jean King Cup, Rybakina said: “Of course, singles and doubles is different. I think, as I said, we did pretty well in all the singles. Doubles, just a little bit unlucky.
“But overall I think we showed good tennis. Hopefully the fans also enjoyed. Yeah, I think the next time we just analyze and we try to do better than today.”
Kazakhstan can hold their heads high after a fine effort, while the USA now move on to the last four, led by captain Lindsay Davenport.
They will take on the winner of Great Britain and Japan, who are both chasing their first Billie Jean King Cup titles in Shenzhen this week.