Tennis: Badosa Leads Spain To Victory; Us, Switzerland Win

Spain’s Paula Badosa defeated Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in three sets to secure victory for Spain in the Group C tie, while the United States got their campaign off to a winning start.

Badosa secured 6-2 3-6 6-4 over Rybakina, giving Spain a chance to go into the semifinals if they win over Britain on Thursday.

Reacting after the game, Badosa said: "It was my first time and I think I enjoyed every minute on court."

In another group match, Coco Gauff and Caty McNally beat Magda Linette and Alicja Rosolska 6-1 6-2 to hand the United States a 2-1 win over Poland.

The teams were level before the decisive doubles match after Danielle Collins' opening victory was cancelled out by Linette'sdefeat of Madison Keys.

Belinda Bencic led Switzerland to victory over Italy in their opening tie, while Slovakia bounced back from a tough loss to Australia to defeat Belgium and get their campaign back on track.

Olympic champion Bencic, the world number 12, saw off Jasmine Paolini 7-5 6-3 to secure the Group A tie for Switzerland after Jil Teichmann saved a match point en route to her thrilling 6-3 4-6 7-6(5) win over Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

The competition, formerly called the Fed Cup, was renamed in honour of the 12-times Grand Slam champion and restructured into a format concluding with 12 nations competing over one week for the title.