Tuesday, November 12, 2024, 16:35
| Updated 5:15 p.m.
Spain begins its adventure in the Billie Jean King Cup against Poland this Wednesday with a dream: to win the sixth title in this competition, the first since 1998. A lot has already rained since Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario and Conchita Martínez defeated Martina’s Switzerland Hingis and Patty Schnyder at the Palexpo in Geneva 26 years ago.
That victory, in which it is worth not forgetting Magüi Serna, who was key with three victories in the quarterfinals against Germany, is the last for Spain in a competition that has changed its format several times in recent years and that seems to have finally found the definitive one.
Anabel Medina’s team will be made up of Paula Badosa, as Spain’s main racket, accompanied by Jessica Bouzas, Sara Sorribes, Nuria Párrizas and Marina Bassols, who entered at the last minute due to Cristina Bucsa’s injury.
With the loss of Bucsa, Spain loses a stronghold in the doubles, where the couple together with Sorribes took the WTA 1,000 in Madrid and the bronze medal at the Paris Olympic Games. Despite this, it is a more than competitive team, especially due to the great moment that Badosa is experiencing.
Since Wimbledon, the Spaniard has played 30 matches, winning 24 and losing six, along the way achieving the title in Washington, the semifinals in Beijing, Cincinnati and Ningbo and the quarterfinals at the US Open. This streak has seen her rise from 113th place before Wimbledon to 12th and on the verge of having played the WTA Finals in Riyadh last week.
It will be his second participation in the old Fed Cup, after not playing last season, despite being called up, and the two victories he achieved in 2022. His good form will be vital for Spain to have a chance in the tournament.
Then there is the option of Sorribes in the doubles, who will have to partner with Badosa, Párrizas or Bouzas, in addition to the second sword, which will probably fall to Pontevedra. Bouzas has completed the best season of his sporting career, after starting the year in 158th place in the ranking and now being among the top sixty. In addition to winning the first WTA title of her career in Antalya, the Galician beat Paula Badosa in Madrid, Marketa Vondrousova, the current champion, at Wimbledon and reached the third round at both the All England Club and the US Open, the best Grand Slam results of his career.
Roadmap
The match against the Poles, which will be played this Wednesday no earlier than 5:00 p.m., will be made up of two singles matches and one doubles match. On Poland’s side, in addition to Swiatek, there will be Magdalena Frech, number 25 in the classification, Magda Linette (38), Maja Chwalinska (165) and Katarzyna Kawa (258).
If they beat Poland, the girls from Medina will face the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, which enters this round directly as the seed, while Italy, Japan or Romania could appear in the semifinals.
On the other side of the table are Canada, the United States, Germany, Great Britain, Australia and Slovakia. The quarterfinals will be on Saturday the 16th, the semifinals on Monday the 19th and the final on Wednesday the 20th. All of this in the Martín Carpena Pavilion in Malaga, where the Davis Cup Finals will be played days later.
