No Pegula or Collins? No problem: Bernarda Pera and Hailey Baptiste shine on USA debut at Billie Jean King Cup

Saturday, 12 April 2025 at 21:10

Bernarda Pera produced a Billie Jean King Cup debut to remember on Saturday in Bratislava easing past Johanne Svendsen to give the side a 2-0 lead which was unassailable in the tie.

They will now face host nation Slovakia on Sunday as they look to head towards September's Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen. Slovakia are led by Rebecca Sramkova so perhaps have the upper hand compared to Pera and Baptiste.

Pera and Baptiste were forced into their debut in the tournament with no Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins or Coco Gauff who either withdrew or are playing elsewhere in Europe next week. Emma Navarro, Peyton Stearns, McCartney Kessler and Ashlyn Krueger too aren't involved.

A country usually full of riches when they come to the nations tournament but still it was the same sort of scoreline. After Pera won 6-3, 6-1 in little over an hour.

Read also

Baptiste delivered a dominant display to ease past Rebecca Munk Mortensen in the opening singles. She raced through her opening service game with an early break following. She bookended the set with a love hold as it went towards the half hour mark.

In the second set, Munk Mortensen looked for a foot hold in the tie saving a break point on the way to holding serve in the third game. The Dane was unable to stem the tide though as Baptiste quelled any hopes of a comeback after one hour and 26 minutes on court.

"I think the key was just sticking to what I was doing," Baptiste said as per the tournament website. "She obviously started playing a lot better, and a lot more aggressive [in the second set] and making a lot more shots, so just sticking with my game, I knew that if I stayed steady I'd be okay."

New faces shine for Team USA ✨️ 🇺🇲

Debutante duo Bernarda Pera and Hailey Baptiste win their singles matches to propel Team USA to a 3-0 tie victory over Denmark#BJKCup pic.twitter.com/uXUPI3wCSg
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) April 12, 2025

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

See author's posts

claps 0visitors 0

Jannik Sinner’s fitness coach details the plan behind his Rome comeback: “This work will have to bear fruit”

Are American tennis players overrated? Jack Sock and Sam Querrey respond