No Gauff, no Pegula, but U.S. Billie Jean King Cup team faces Czech Republic for spot in semifinals

In its quest to win a 19th Billie Jean King Cup title, and first since 2017, the United States of America’s team earned a high-energy and intermittently dramatic victory over defending champion Switzerland on Thursday in Seville, Spain.

Up against 139^th-ranked Celine Naef, a rapidly rising 18-year-old, Danielle Collins struggled in the first set and then broke it open, 7-6 (4), 6-1.

Next, Sofia Kenin clinched it in true rollercoaster fashion. Versus 84^th-ranked Viktorija Golubic, in a match that lasted nearly three hours, Kenin surrendered two match points in the second set, fought off one in the third, then at last converted her sixth to earn a 6-3, 6-7 (1), 7-5 win.

Following the decisive singles victories, a dead rubber doubles match was won by Taylor Townsend and Sloane Stephens over the team of Jil Teichmann and Simona Waltert, 6-1, 7-6 (3).

This week’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals began as a round-robin event. Twelve teams have been placed in four groups of three teams each. The four squads that emerge most successful from the round-robin stage will have then arrived in the semis, and from there will compete in an elimination format: semis on Saturday, finals on Sunday.

Having gotten past Switzerland, Friday’s challenge for the U.S. will almost certainly be much greater. The opponent is the Czech Republic, a nation that has won this event 11 times, including six in eight years from 2011 through ‘18. With the Czech squad having also beaten Switzerland, the U.S.-Czech Republic match will determine who gets to play in Saturday’s semi.

A subplot for the U.S. team is the absence of its two highest-ranked players, US Open champion Coco Gauff and world No. 5 Jessica Pegula. At one level, each choosing not to play is understandable. Just last week, Gauff and Pegula were nearly 5,000 miles away from Seville, competing in the singles and doubles at the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico. Each has also had an arduous year, Gauff playing 115 singles and doubles matches, Pegula 125.

Iga Swiatek also opted out of the Billie Jean King Cup for the second year in a row. Citing the long distance and rapid turnaround time involved in traveling from one high-stakes event to another, Swiatek last year said, “This situation is not safe for our health and could cause injury. I’m going to talk to the WTA and ITF in order to change something.”

As has been the case for decades, tennis has a challenge when it comes to creating a workable schedule. “We all need to get together and figure out a better calendar for the players and everybody knowing what’s going to happen, because you can’t start making these decisions, like on the (WTA) Finals, in October or ... September,” said King last month. “They have to know ahead of time. It’s only fair.”

All that said, there is a value no one cherishes more than Billie Jean King: freedom of choice. For that is something King and all her colleagues of the 1960s and ‘70s fought hard to achieve. No one wants to go back to the days when a player’s refusal to represent his or her country led to various forms of penalization, including suspensions and travel bans.

Better yet to strongly address calendar reform. An even more utopian dream would be for tennis’ various powers-that-be to figure out a way for men and women to compete at the same time and place at both team and year-end events. Fans love it at other tournaments. So why not on these special occasions? We’ll float this one: Make the Laver Cup co-ed.

Back to the match at hand. Even with top tenners Gauff and Pegula not in Seville, don’t overlook the accomplishments and skills of Collins and Kenin. Collins reached the finals Down Under in 2022. Kenin was the 2020 Australian Open champion and upset Gauff this year at Wimbledon. This year, though, both have struggled to generate significant results. Between them, the 55^th-ranked Collins and 33^rd-ranked Kenin went just 7-7 at the majors in ’23. The lack of sustainable sharpness was evident in both of their Billie Jean King Cup matches. Collins found herself down 4-1 in the first set tiebreaker before rattling off six straight points to win it. And against Golubic, Kenin was outcompeted in the late stages of the second set and during much of the third prior to turning it around at the last possible moment.

The Czech Republic team brings its classic mix of focus and versatility. On Tuesday, with world No. 8 Karolina Muchova having withdrawn due to a wrist injury and Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova still probably weary after arriving Sunday from Cancun, two Billie Jean King Cup rookies stepped up versus Switzerland. In the opener, 41^st-ranked Linda Noskova beat Naef, 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4. World No. 23 Marie Bouzkova closed out the tie with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Golubic.

But as well as these newcomers played, the Czech Republic will bring out even more formidable players on Friday, with Collins facing Katerina Siniakova before Kenin meets Vondrousova. (Vondrousova has never played Kenin, but is 3-0 versus Collins.)

Then there’s Barbora Krejcikova. As far as Krejcikova goes, the Americans are probably happy they’re not playing in San Diego. In that city this past September, Krejcikova toughed out both on consecutive days—a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Collins in the semis, followed with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory versus Kenin to take the title. Krejcikova also beat Kenin the only prior time the two played one another, on clay in Rome ’21.

A big picture way to view the U.S.-Czech match is to see it as a contrast between passion and precision. When it comes to intensity, power and volume, it’s tough to top Collins. Her effort level is impressive, but sometimes I wonder if all the energy she burns between points is counterproductive, akin to a car overheating even at red lights. Kenin also competes with extraordinary energy, willpower and the ability to come up with creative shot-making patterns at critical moments. Yet she too leaves me speculating if some of her volatility aids or hurts.

Meanwhile, Vondrousova and Krejcikova have their own distinct styles. The southpaw's arsenal of angles and power proved quite effective at Wimbledon. She’s also 12-1 in Billie Jean King Cup matches. And Krejcikova, long an excellent doubles player, brought all of that and more to the court when she won the singles at Roland Garros two years ago.

A team event like Billie Jean King Cup could greatly inspire Collins and Kenin to play tremendous tennis. Collins, familiar with this kind of environment from her years playing college tennis, is now 6-1 in Billie Jean King Cup singles matches. Then again, the level of intensity each of these two brings could lead to them overcooking one shot after another.

For the Americans to thrive, a good start is critical. Forceful and air-tight tennis could make it hard for either Czech Republic player to take control of the rallies.

Then there’s the final X factor: a decisive doubles match. Should that happen, the Czech Republic will field Krejcikova and her longstanding partner, Siniakova. These two have been the WTA’s most successful team of recent times, winning seven Slams since 2018. But these circumstances could propel America’s team, Stephens and Townsend. Stephens, winner of the 2017 US Open, is a highly experienced, all-court player. The lefthanded Townsend is one of the best doubles players in the world, her volleys among the finest in contemporary tennis. She is also tremendous at engaging crowd involvement.

No matter what happens in singles or doubles, the audience should be quite lively on Friday.