Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina earned a 6-3, 6-4 win over Weronika Falkowska to help her native Kazakhstan take a 2-0 lead over Poland in Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers on Friday in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Rybakina’s victory followed teammate Yulia Putintseva knocking off Poland’s Magda Linette, the 19th-ranked player in the world, 7-5, 6-3.
Qualifiers are taking place Friday and Saturday at locations around the world. The winning nations will advance to the finals in November. Switzerland and Austria have already qualified for the finals as last year’s two finalists.
France won key tiebreakers to take a 2-0 lead on Great Britain in Coventry, England. Caroline Garcia got past Katie Boulter 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), and Alize Cornet beat Harriet Dart 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3). Italy took a 2-0 lead on Slovakia when Camila Giorgi handled Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2, 6-3, and Martina Trevisan outlasted Viktoria Hruncakova 7-6 (9), 6-3.
The Czech Republic leads Ukraine 2-0, with matches being hosted in Turkey. Spain is up on Mexico 2-0 and Romania leads Slovenia by the same margin.
The only match knotted 1-1 so far is Germany against Brazil; Beatriz Haddad Maia got Brazil on the board first by beating Anna-Lena Friedsam 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, but Germany’s Tatjana Maria answered with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win over Laura Pigossi.
On Friday evening, the U.S. is hosting Austria in Delray Beach, Fla., and Canada will face Belgium in Vancouver.
Europe/Africa Group I
Hungary and Sweden earned promotion next year by topping their respective groups in Antalya, Turkey. Hungary defeated Netherlands 3-0 and Sweden got past Serbia 2-1.
Netherlands will face Serbia on Saturday to determine the third and final nation to earn a promotion spot.
Americas Group I
Argentina improved to 4-0 and could face off against an undefeated Colombia in their final match on Saturday in Cucuta, Colombia.
Colombia entered Friday’s meeting with Chile with a 3-0 record.
Asia/Oceania Group I
Japan swept India 3-0 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to remain the only unbeaten nation in pool play, a perfect 4-0. On Saturday the Japanese will face China, which is second place at 3-1 after sweeping Thailand.
–Field Level Media