PREVIEW Billie Jean King Cup Quarterfinals: Paula Badosa returns to lead Spain against Svitolina's Ukraine

The second day of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals will feature an interesting series between Spain and Ukraine in the quarterfinals. Paula Badosa and Elina Svitolina will be the main stars for their respective teams, both looking to secure a spot in the semifinals against the comfortably waiting defending champions, Italy, who already defeated host nation China.

The day will be marked by the return of former World No. 2 Badosa after several months off the court, as she seeks to give her country a victory against World No. 13 Svitolina. The other singles match will feature an intriguing duel between each country's No. 2 player: Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (No. 51) will face Marta Kostyuk (No. 26).

If all goes as planned, with no last-minute changes, the No. 2 players from each country will open the series, facing each other for the first time in their careers. Bouzas Maneiro was key in Spain's qualification, clinching singles wins against Beatriz Haddad Maia and Linda Noskova—two players who were considered favorites against the Spaniard, who was only ranked No. 69 at the time but defeated two top-30 players.

The Spanish player has had a strong few months, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open and the quarterfinals at the Canadian Open. With her growing experience, Bouzas will be a tough challenge for Kostyuk, who is the favorite in this matchup. The Ukrainian is coming off a good run to the fourth round of the US Open—where she was eliminated in three sets by Karolina Muchova—and will look to start the series on a high note, as the Ukrainians appear to have the better chance of qualifying.

This is an incredibly interesting quarterfinal matchup, and the key will be to see what level Badosa (No. 20) returns at and if she is 100% physically. Everything indicates that Badosa will play, unless captain Carla Suárez Navarro makes a last-minute change. It's been two and a half months since Badosa's last appearance at the end of June at Wimbledon, where she fell in the first round to Katie Boulter. Her recurring back injury kept her out of the American hard-court swing, and Badosa hopes to regain her rhythm in the final part of the year. This is especially important as she had been climbing the rankings over the last year, returning to the Top 10 a few months ago.

The former Indian Wells champion was not with Spain in the qualifiers, but the European team managed to advance through a difficult group stage. Now, they will be looking to reach the Billie Jean King Cup semifinals for the first time in 17 years. Badosa stated that coming back in a team competition like the BJK Cup is a great emotional boost after months away from the sport. "It helps. It helps. Coming back from the injury, you feel [at] times a little bit alone. You have ups and downs. Having these people by your side, your people by your side, it's always helpful. It motivates me."

On the other side of the net will be Svitolina, the current World No. 13, who is not coming into the series with great confidence. After being in a close fight to reach the Top 10, the 31-year-old star suffered a first-round defeat at the US Open, losing her chance for now and dropping in the rankings. She is called upon to lead a solid Ukrainian team that has more than enough firepower to contend for the title. "We have very strong girls, many in the top 100. I'm very, very happy that we are here in the Finals finally. For so many years we tried to qualify. Finally we're here, so we're enjoying every moment."

They have only faced each other once, on the grass courts of the Eastbourne International back in 2021, where Svitolina secured a tight victory with a score of 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(1).

If the teams are tied after the two singles matches, a doubles match will be played to decide the series. This time, there will be other stars, as Ukraine has doubles specialists Lyudmyla Kichenok (No. 32)—the 2024 US Open champion—and Nadiia Kichenok (No. 55).

The Spanish team only has Cristina Bucsa (No. 30) as a doubles specialist, who would team up with Aliona Bolsova (No. 122) to play the deciding match. However, Bolsova's spot is the only one that could be in doubt, and it would not be surprising if Suárez Navarro chose to give more court time to Bouzas or even Badosa.