Kazakhstan cruised into the Billie Jean King Cup finals by dropping just four games in two matches played against Colombia on Friday.
The country entered their tie knowing that victory would move them into the knockout stages of this year’s event after they beat host nation Australia earlier this week. Yulia Putintseva got Kazakhstan off to a blistering start by storming past Valentina Mediorreal 6-0, 6-1, in less than 40 minutes. Mediorreal was making her debut in the tournament at the age of 18.
Following Putintseva’s victory, former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina clinched the tie with another one-sided win. The world No.10 was on court for less than an hour during her 6-2, 6-1, win over Yuliana Lizarazo.
“We’re super happy and excited to play (the finals) in Shenzhen,” said Rybakina.
“We had great support and the president of our association was here, so really nice to be here all together.
“We were focusing of course on singles to get the wins… super happy to get them in such a competent way.”
It is the third time in history that Kazakhstan has made it through to the finals after 2022 and 2023. However, this year is the first time the finals will feature eight teams instead of 12 following changes made to the format.
Meanwhile, both Australia and Colombia will play in the BJK Cup Play-offs in November.
The BJK Cup Finals will be held from 16 to 21 September at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre Arena in Shenzhen, China. It is taking place earlier than usual in the season to keep the event in line with the WTA Tour’s Asian swing. The China Open starts on September 24th.
Besides Kazakhstan, hosts China and defending champions Italy have already secured their sports.
2025 Billie Jean King Cup qualifying round groups
- A- Canada, Romania and Japan
- B – Czech Republic, Spain and Brazil
- C – Slovakia, United States and Denmark
- D- Kazakhstan, Colombia and Australia (Kazakhstan has won the group)
- E – Poland, Switzerland and Ukraine
- F – Great Britain, Germany and Netherlands
Note: Group A is hosted in Tokyo (Japan), Group B in Ostrava (Czechia), Group C in Bratislava (Slovakia), Group D in Brisbane (Australia), Group E in Radom (Poland), and Group F in The Hague (Netherlands).
