Great Britain have been drawn against Spain and Kazakhstan in Group C – both boasting very different teams and styles. We take a look at the Brits opponents in Glasgow, with everything you need to know about both squads.

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Spain

Meet the team:

• Paula Badosa (Singles: No.4)
• Nuria Parrizas Diaz (Singles: No.75)
• Cristina Bucsa (Singles: No.110 / Doubles: No.149)
• Aliona Bolsova (Singles: No.163 / Doubles: No.75)
• Rebeka Masarova (Singles: No.180 / Doubles: No.262)
• Captain: Anabel Medina Garrigues

History: Spain come into the Billie Jean King Cup Finals as the third seeds – behind only Australia and France – and have been a constant at the top of the game since joining in 1972. The Spaniards have won five titles in their history, all during a dominant period in the 90s where they lifted five trophies in eight years (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1998).

2021 performance: The Spanish side started the year with a strong win against Japan in the qualifying rounds. Sara Sorribes Tormo put in a dominant display to defeat three-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 6-0, 6-3 to start the tie, as Spain marched to a 3-1 win.

Fast-forward to the Finals later in the year and Spain again started well with a 2-1 win over Slovakia in the first match of Group C. However, they didn’t make it out of the group – losing to the USA 2-1 in what would be their final tie.

Journey to the Finals: In their 50^th year competing in the tournament, Spain cruised through their Finals qualifier against the Netherlands, 4-0 away in s’Hertogenbosch. Nurria Parrizas-Diaz and Sorribes Tormo led the way by winning three singles rubbers without dropping a set, before Aliona Bolsova and Rebeka Masarova edged a doubles match tie-break to complete the clean sweep.

Players to watch: Spanish No.1 Paula Badosa has been at the top of the game for the last two years having broken into the top 10 in 2021 and then reaching a career-high world No.2 in April 2022. A three-time WTA Tour title champion – in Indian Wells, Belgrade and Sydney – Badosa has reached the latter stages of several big events in the last 12 months, including Miami, Stuttgart and San Jose. 

With Spain missing Sorribes Tormo this year, Parrizas-Diaz will step up to the plate as their No.2. After a semi-final performance in Monterrey, the Spaniard has also reached quarter-finals in Melbourne, Rabat, Palermo and Granby. Cristina Bucsa could be one to watch in the doubles in Glasgow. The 24-year-old recently finished runner-up in her first WTA doubles final in Portoroz and also reached the semi-final in Stuttgart earlier in 2022.

Kazakhstan

Meet the team:

• Elena Rybakina (Singles No.26)
• Yulia Putintseva (Singles No.47)
• Anna Danilina (Doubles No.21)
• Zhibek Kulambayeva (Doubles No.189)
• Captain: Yaroslava Shvedova

History: Kazakhstan are a relatively new nation to the Billie Jean King Cup, having joined back in 1995. Since then, they have continued to grow and improve – achieving their best results in 2013 and 2017, where they reached the World Group II play-offs. This will be the first time that Kazakhstan have competed in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

2021 performance: Kazakhstan lost their qualifier against Belgium 3-1 last year, thanks to an impressive display from Elise Mertens and Kristen Flipkens. Fighting to keep their place in the qualifying rounds for 2022, Kazakhstan edged a close contest against Argentina 3-2, in a tie that came down to the deciding doubles rubber. Player-Captain Yaroslava Shvedova helped secure the win for her country alongside Anna Danilina with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Maria Loudres Carle and Nadia Podoroska.

Journey to the Finals: In April earlier this year, Kazakhstan sealed their place in the 2022 Finals with a 3-1 win against Germany at the National Tennis Centre in Nur-Sultan. Elena Rybakina picked up victories against both Angelique Kerber and Laura Siegemund, while Yulia Putintseva came from behind to defeat Kerber 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Players to watch: Rybakina will be well known to British tennis fans, after the 23-year-old won the women’s singles title at Wimbledon in July – overthrowing a one set deficit to beat world No.2 Ons Jabeur 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Kazakhstan’s biggest star hasn’t shown any signs of letting up since – she reached the quarter-finals at the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati and has since progressed to the semi-finals in Ostrava as well as finishing runner-up in Portoroz.

Danilina is Kazakhstan’s highest ranked player in the squad at world No.21 in the WTA doubles rankings. The 27-year-old has won seven titles in total this year – including two WTA crowns in Sydney and in Warsaw – and finished runner-up at the Australian Open with Brazlian, Beatriz Haddad Maia.