Shenzhen, China — Jessica Pegra and Taylor Townsend have sent the US to the Billy Jan King Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2021 after beating Kazakhstan 2-1 on Thursday.
Pegra and Townsend have broken through Yulia Putintseva and Elena Rybakina, 6-2, 7-6 (1) in doubles.
In the singles, Emma Navaro beat Putinzeva 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (6), and Rivakina evenly equalized the quarterfinals by sending Pegra 6-4 and 6-1.
Two-time major doubles champion Townsend sparked some controversy this week after she later apologized for her comments about Chinese food.
The US will play Japan or the UK in Saturday’s semi-finals. Japan and the UK will be playing the quarterfinals on Thursday.
With the other half of the draw, Ukraine will face defending champion Italy in the semi-finals on Friday. Marta Kostyuk and Elina Svitolina won singles matches with Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Paula Badosa respectively, moving Ukraine to the final four. Italy defeated host China.
The BJK Cup was previously known as the Fed Cup. The US is the most successful team with 18 winners, but has not won a title since 2017.
