What’s at stake?
As with all of the opening round matches, teams are vying for a place in the quarter-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals.
The winner of this tie will play Australia on Sunday. Australia, as the No 4 ranked team, received a bye to the quarter-finals. Slovakia have never beaten them in three previous attempts, while the USA hold a 9-6 winning record over the Australians.
At this year’s Finals, Slovakia are the 10th-ranked team while the USA are fifth.
History
In their only previous meeting at the Finals in 2021, Slovakia defeated the USA 2-1.
Slovakia were crowned champions in 2002, but have not reached the quarter-final stage of the competition since 2013.
The USA meanwhile have the richest history in the competition, as 18-time champions. Their new captain, former world No 1 Lindsay Davenport, is a big part of that history. She won the title three times as a player, and her 11 years representing her country make her one of the USA’s most prolific players in this competition.
But the USA have experienced a drought in recent years and have lifted the trophy only once (in 2017) since the turn of the century.
Who to look out for?
On the Slovakia team, Rebecca Sramkova is their leading singles player. She won the first WTA title of her career this season in Hua Hin, and has reached a career-high ranking of 43. She is full of confidence and will be hoping to spring a shock result.
The American squad is full of talent too. Danielle Collins recently announced she was postponing her planned retirement at the end of this year, and is in Malaga with a renewed sense of motivation as she extends her career beyond 2024. She enjoyed arguably her best results in recent months, including winning her first WTA 1000 title in Miami.
Her teammate Peyton Stearns also has a chance of making her debut appearance for the USA in the Billie Jean King Cup. Stearns was part of the squad at last year’s Finals, but did not play.
In doubles, Taylor Townsend is one of the leading players in the world right now after finishing runner-up at the WTA Finals and picking up her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in July.
Who is saying what?
Lindsay Davenport (USA captain): “I think every player saw last year that anything can happen in this competition. I’m not sure many picked Team Canada to win it, but their chemistry and level of play was able to win them the title.
“My players know that winning the title is definitely in their reach. Nothing is guaranteed or easy. While we’re not seeded high I think we are favourite in some people’s eyes to get through a certain portion of the draw. But that doesn’t mean a whole lot, my players still have to go out there and take care of business.”
Matej Liptak (Slovakia captain): “We have, I think, no expectation. We just go for a big challenge. I think our country is maybe the smallest country here in this competition. So for us, there is really honour and some special feeling that we are here, part of these teams and countries. We go to the match and we are looking forward, and I hope that we can make some surprise.”