Rybakina-less Kazakhstan fall short against Spain as Billie Jean King Cup semifinal place is decided

The Billie Jean King Cup continued on Wednesday with the second quarterfinal tie, this time between Spain and Kazakhstan. The Kazakh team had to deal with the absence of Elena Rybakina, while Spain did not count on Paula Badosa for this occasion.

The tie was ultimately decided in the doubles, with Spain securing the win and a place in the semifinals of the tournament.

The Spanish team started on the right foot thanks to a victory for Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who put them ahead. In the second match, Putintseva did not feel the pressure of taking over Rybakina's leadership role and, in a notable performance, defeated world No. 35 Cristina Bucsa, keeping Kazakhstan's chances alive and taking the tie to the doubles.

However, in the doubles match, Kazakhstan had a strong partnership led by world No. 6 Anna Danilina, but it could not overcome the experience of the Spanish pair of Bucsa and Sorribes Tormo. It was therefore the Spaniards who secured their place in the semifinals, where they will face the powerful Czech Republic team, led by Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova.

The first match had a clear favorite. Former top-40 player Bouzas Maneiro arrived without having a great year, but with the clear advantage of experience on her side. The current world No. 93 faced a young Zhiyenbayeva, ranked No. 384 in the world and just 20 years old, but who had been making significant progress in recent months after winning two ITF titles on hard courts in Spain last month. This time against Bouzas Maneiro, however, she could not do much and quickly saw the match slip away.

Bouzas Maneiro took an early break and moved ahead 2-0, before securing a second break shortly afterwards. With the score at 5-1 in her favor, she even had three set points on the return but could not convert them, and eventually lost her serve. The second set quickly followed the same path. After Zhiyenbayeva held her opening service game, saving a break point, Bouzas Maneiro went on a run of 12 consecutive points and built a double-break advantage, which ultimately sealed the victory

There was little the young Kazakh could do. She had already challenged Andreescu in her previous appearance in the Billie Jean King Cup in April, but this time she managed just four games throughout the match. Bouzas Maneiro closed out the victory 6-2, 6-2 after one hour and two minutes, giving Spain an early lead.

An exciting clash between the leaders of their respective countries. Putintseva took responsibility in the absence of Rybakina to once again become Kazakhstan's leader, and she was the player who quickly took control of the match in the opening set. Consistent on serve and with a double-break advantage, the world No. 78 closed out the first set 6-2 in just 33 minutes, showing her experience in this type of match.

Bucsa, ranked No. 35, was coming off a strong run in Guadalajara all the way to the semifinals and full of confidence in recent weeks, but she won just 52% of her service points in the opening set. In the second, however, she improved her consistency and managed to hold her serve without problems for several games.

The Spaniard took control of the set and never stopped fighting. She dropped her serve in the seventh game, but quickly broke back to remain ahead. Bucsa closed out the set 6-3 and sent the match to a decider, with the chance to give Spain the victory early.

However, the third set was only even at the beginning, with both players holding serve to make it 1-1, before Putintseva showed that she could remain consistent in a long match and was relentless on serve. She won 85% of her first-serve points, just conceded four service points in the set and faced no break points. She also took advantage of her opportunities, converting 2/3 of her break chances in the set before closing out the victory with a run of five games in a row.

The 31-year-old won 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, leaving everything in the hands of the doubles teams to decide the tie and showing that taking Rybakina's place did not weigh on her.

The doubles clash featured two top players from the doubles tour. Anna Danilina, the world No.6 in doubles, has four Grand Slam finals on her resume, including two this year at the Australian Open and French Open. This time, she partnered with Zhibek Kulambayeva, world No. 105 in doubles. On the other side, Bucsa, recent champion of doubles draw at WTA 500 Guadalajara Open just days earlier (alongside Nicole Melichar-Martinez) and a top-15 player in doubles, teamed up with the experienced Sara Sorribes Tormo, another former top-20 player in the category.

The first set saw the Spanish pair secure three breaks compared to just one for the Kazakh team, allowing them to comfortably take the opener 6-2 in just 40 minutes.

The second set was a true rollercoaster, with the Kazakhs taking an early 2-0 lead before the Spanish pair managed to recover and level the score minutes later. At 3-3 came the most contested game of the match, featuring up to 10 deuces and six break points for the Kazakh team, but they were unable to convert any of them, giving the Spaniards a significant momentum boost.

In the following games, Spain again had to save multiple break points — nine in total — while facing 16 break points across the set, but they managed to move ahead to 6-5. The Kazakhs faltered under the pressure, and the decisive break finally came for Spain, who secured the victory in straight sets in a notable doubles performance.

They advance to face the Czech Republic, who have Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova leading the team, alongside 11-time doubles Grand Slam champion Katerina Siniakova, arguably the most dominant player in the category over the past decade.