Hey there, fellow tennis enthusiasts It’s your girl Mia Johnson-Carter here, living the dream in Miami. Today, I’m super excited to share some amazing news from the world of tennis. You know how we’re always talking about the latest tennis trends and player updates? Well, today I want to highlight something truly inspiring that involves a big upset in the Billie Jean King Cup.
The recent Billie Jean King Cup match between Slovakia and the USA was a real nail-biter. In a stunning turn of events, Slovakia ended the United States’ title hopes early Friday morning in Malaga, Spain, scoring a 2-1 victory in a decisive doubles match to move onto the quarterfinals.
Here’s how it went down:
After Taylor Townsend won her first Billie Jean King Cup singles match over 17-year-old junior star Renata Jamrichova, 43rd-ranked Rebecca Sramkova upended Danielle Collins in the night’s second singles, 6-2, 7-5. The match was intense, with both players giving it their all.
The real drama unfolded in the doubles match. Captain Lindsay Davenport subbed in an in-form Townsend and paired her with rookie Ashlyn Krueger for the no-ad, match-tiebreak decider. The American pair sparked some optimism in the third-set match tiebreak, saving six match points to nearly level at 9-all. However, their comeback fell just short.
“Super, you know, up and down kind of emotionally for really everybody,” Captain Lindsay Davenport said. “I thought Taylor did a great job playing in the first match, really did what we wanted her to do, be able to win that one. Danielle just wasn’t feeling great out there, really struggling kind of right now with her confidence and hasn’t played tons. She almost, like, was able to flip it in the second. She got a couple of points away from winning that second set. Maybe that would have helped. We were dealing with some injuries with the other two, so a little bit limited on my options for doubles, hoping that, you know, the momentum of the second set would really help, but, you know, it was a slow start to the tiebreak.”
The U.S. Billie Jean King Cup team awaits its draw for the 2025 Qualifying round, held the week of April 7, 2025. Next year’s format will see three nations play round-robin matches at one of seven qualifying sites, with the winner of each round-robin group advancing to the eight-nation Finals next year.
If you want, you can check out the news where I found it here.
Yours truly,
Mia
###