BJK Cup Finals spotlight: Elena Rybakina stars for Kazakhstan team eyeing shock

BJK Cup Staff

Elena Rybakina is a national hero in Kazakhstan and could surprise opponents in the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals.
 

Elena Rybakina is not the most vocal, demonstrative leader. But in her own quiet, unassuming way, she has secured Kazakhstan an invitation to the finale of the World Cup of Tennis.

Since the premier international women’s tennis team event was re-branded as the Billie Jean King Cup in 2020, the country has made it to the BJK Cup Finals three out of five times. They debuted in 2022, the same year that Rybakina captured the Wimbledon title to become the first Kazakh player to win a Grand Slam singles trophy.

The 26-year-old will once again shoulder the responsibility as Kazakhstan bid to win their first World Champion title at the 2025 BJK Cup Finals in Shenzhen, China. The tournament, which will take place from September 16-21, will see eight teams – Kazakhstan, China, Italy, Japan, Spain, Great Britain, USA and Ukraine – compete in a knockout format.

Kazakhstan open their campaign on September 18 with a quarter-final clash against the USA, the most successful team in the competition with 18 titles.

For Rybakina, it is another opportunity to scale lofty heights yet again.

In a perfect mix of power and poise, the Kazakh had hollowed out Ons Jabeur’s bag of tricks in the final of Wimbledon three years ago to announce herself on the big stage. She followed it up with a runner-up finish at the 2023 Australian Open, and reached a career high of World No. 3 in June 2023.

Despite a strong start to 2024, when she won three WTA titles, Rybakina’s momentum was stalled by injuries and illness. She had to pull out of the Paris Olympics due to acute bronchitis.

Though she has not reached a final at a Grand Slam for more than two years, the Kazakh has performed consistently on the WTA Tour. She has won a total of nine titles, the last of which came at the WTA 500 event in Strasbourg in May 2025. Her best – and most heartbreaking – effort this year came at Roland-Garros in Paris, when she nearly knocked out reigning champion Iga Swiatek in the fourth round.

Rybakina jumped into a 6-1 2-0 lead, in a phase of play so crushing that had Swiatek wondering if she was «playing against Jannik Sinner». But the Kazakh was unable to sustain the level and eventually went down 6-1 3-6 5-7. In another close contest against Leylah Fernandez at the WTA event in Washington, she lost after three tiebreaks in the semi-finals.

While she usually looks like a picture of composure on court, the fire in Rybakina’s game is unmistakable. And she will want to convert those narrow losses to decisive wins when she turns up for national duty at the BJK Cup Finals.

Rybakina's record at the Billie Jean King Cup

Elena Rybakina was part of Kazakhstan’s 2025 BJK Cup Qualifiers squad. She won both her singles matches as Kazakhstan defeated Australia 2-1 and Colombia 3-0 to top Group D.

Here is her record in BJK Cup by Gainbridge:

• Debut: 2021

• No. of ties played: 8

• Win-loss record: 9-2 (Singles 9-1, Doubles 0-1)