Czechia Republic Beat Ukraine 2-0 to Win 12th Billie Jean King Cup Title

SHENZEN: In July they played each other in the Wimbledon final. Now, Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova have teamed up to win the Billie Jean King Cup for Czechia.

The sixth-ranked Noskova and eighth-ranked Muchova each won their singles matches on Sunday as Czechia beat Ukraine 2-0 in the final of the women’s team event. Noskova sealed the tie by defeating seventh-ranked Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6 (5) after Muchova had beaten 47th-ranked Anhelina Kalinina 6-2, 6-3.

Czechia, formerly known as the Czech Republic, secured its 12th title in the competition previously called the Fed Cup — and its first since 2018. Only the United States, which did not qualify for the finals, has won more, with a record 18 titles.

Czech captain Barbora Strycova became the fourth woman to win the competition as both a player and a captain, joining Margaret Court, Chris Evert and event namesake Billie Jean King. Strycova won three titles with Czechia as a player before taking over as captain this year.

Czechia also shut out Britain in the quarterfinals and Spain in the semifinals, meaning top-ranked doubles specialist Katerina Siniakova did not have to play at all during the week.

In this year’s all-Czech Wimbledon final, Noskova beat Muchova for her first Grand Slam title. Agencies

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