MINSK, 1 November (BelTA) - In the second rubber Belarus' world number 88 Aliaksandra Sasnovich lost to Belgium's world number 18 Elise Mertens 2-6, 6-4, 2-6 at the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Finals (former Federation Cup) that kicked off in Prague on 1 November featuring the world's 12 best women's teams, BelTA has learned.
In the Group B singles rubber world number 263 Iryna Shymanovich of Belarus lost to Belgium's world number 70 Greet Minnen, 2-6, 2-6.
In the doubles rubber Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Vera Lapko will face Kirsten Flipkens and Ysaline Bonaventure.
In the second tie on 4 November Belarus will play Australia. Belgium and Australia will play each other on 2 November. The winner of the group will face the best in Group D (the Czech Republic, Belgium and Switzerland) in the semifinal.
In the first rubber in Group, Canada's Francoise Abanda (353) defeated France's Fiona Ferro (105) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
More matches in the other groups are:
Group C: Slovakia v Spain
Group D: Czech Republic v Germany
The Billie Jean King Cup is the largest international team competition in women's tennis. It is organized by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Until September 2020, the competition was called the Federation Cup, but then it was renamed after the legendary U.S. tennis player.
Team Belarus has been playing in the BJK Cup since 1994. Their best ever performance was reaching finals against the United States in Minsk. The U.S. team has won 18 titles, the Czech Republic - 11 titles, and the Australians - 7 titles. In the decisive match in 2019, France beat Australia 3-2. Last season the tournament was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
