Italy and Ukraine off to strong start in Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cocciaretto-elisabetta/pA0aW3EL/"]Cocciaretto[/a] set the tone with a ‌solid 7-5, 6-2 victory over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/uchijima-moyuka/K25VJT7h/"]Moyuka Uchijima[/a], edging a tight opening set before building momentum and ‌using her power to pull clear in the second despite a ‌brief fightback by the Japanese player.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/paolini-jasmine/noaX0EJn/"]Jasmine Paolini[/a] then delighted the crowd with a composed ‌6-3, 6-1 win against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sakatsume-himeno/zZoU3kJa/"]Himeno Sakatsume[/a], the world number eight, lifting ‌her level to claim a seventh straight Billie Jean King Cup singles win and leave Italy one step from qualification.[/p][embed guid="35b709e1-299f-41db-9f45-3e795030eaf1" url="https://x.com/BJKCup/status/2042609581264720337" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Top-ranked players win[/h2][p]Top-ranked players [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/monfils-elina/jyngIesG/"]Elina Svitolina[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bencic-belinda/ObGlDvu0/"]Belinda Bencic[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/noskova-linda/zHMiAkw6/"]Linda Noskova[/a] ‌were among the winners for their respective countries ⁠on a day that saw several ‌surprising results.[/p][p]Ukraine's world number seven Svitolina sailed past Poland's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kawa-katarzyna/2kS2AMrn/"]Katarzyna Kawa[/a] 6-2, 6-1, while ​her partner [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kostyuk-marta/8CZqQdSa/"]Marta Kostyuk[/a] defeated [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/linette-magda/vXvzyRlq/"]Magda Linette[/a] as they took a 2-0 lead in Gliwice.[/p][p]World number 14 Noskova of the Czech Republic ​cancelled out Swiss Bencic’s thrilling opening victory to help the 11-times champions level the tie at 1-1 in Biel.[/p][p]Noskova beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/golubic-viktorija/x0QCtJlk/"]Viktorija Golubic[/a] 6-1, 6-4 after ⁠Bencic overcame [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bouzkova-marie/WMS3AdAb/"]Marie Bouzkova[/a] 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4 in a marathon encounter that topped three hours.[/p][h2]Impressive Britain[/h2][p]Britain also made a strong start in Melbourne, taking a 2-0 lead over Australia after impressive wins from 17-year-old debutant [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/stojsavljevic-mika/YyyT3fOe/"]Mika Stojsavljevic[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dart-harriet/h6Lq4OGA/"]Harriet Dart[/a] on the ‌opening day.[/p][p]Stojsavljevic produced a fearless display to beat Australia’s top-ranked player, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gibson-talia/8GwNXON6/"]Talia Gibson[/a], 7-6(4) 7-5, while Dart defeated [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/birrell-kimberly/S4ljFw3g/"]Kimberly Birrell[/a] 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.[/p][p]In Astana, Canada and Kazakhstan were locked at 1-1 after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/andreescu-bianca/KhlPw9hb/"]Bianca Andreescu[/a] marked her return to the competition by beating local teenager [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zhiyenbayeva-sonja/dpoPf0xc/"]Sonja Zhiyenbayeva[/a] 6-4, 7-6(4).[/p][embed guid="3d989db1-5553-436c-93b9-40a86a5df381" url="https://x.com/BJKCup/status/2042598763529683289" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/putintseva-yulia/W2BCKjLQ/"]Yulia Putintseva[/a] had earlier given the hosts the lead with a hard-fought 6-3, 7-5 win over Kayla Cross.[/p][p]Spain's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/quevedo-kaitlin/Ovyv04To/"]Kaitlin Quevedo[/a] and Slovenia's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/erjavec-veronika/rsErY1Yt/"]Veronika Erjavec[/a] picked up victories for their respective teams as the two nations finished the day in Portoroz ‌tied at 1-1.[/p][p]The 20-year-old Quevedo won on her debut when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zidansek-tamara/UiaMC9xj/"]Tamara Zidansek[/a] retired ​injured at the start of the third set.[/p][p]Belgium's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/van-de-winkel-hanne/Qw6Rciy8/"]Hanne Vandewinkel[/a] stunned ‌her higher-ranked US opponent, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jovic-iva/bmWvBlnL/"]Iva Jovic[/a], 7-6(3), 6-3, before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mertens-elise/Y1ZrrUtl/"]Elise Mertens[/a] defeated [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kessler-mccartney/dMopwFzs/"]McCartney Kessler[/a], who retired with a lower back injury at 3-3 in the decider after a close battle.[/p][embed guid="0b797eea-8607-453e-a0a3-89691a412c66" url="https://x.com/BJKCup/status/2042644368570372539" social-type="twitter" /][p]Seven nations from the qualifiers advance to the finals, scheduled to take place between September 22nd and 27th ⁠in Shenzhen, alongside hosts China, while ⁠the losing teams move into ‌the 2026 playoffs later in November.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/paolini-j-noaX0EJn/sakatsume-h-zZoU3kJa/?mid=f74lRM6K"]Catch up with all the results from the Billie Jean King Cup today![/a][/b][/p]