Japan Falls to Italy in BJK Cup Quarterfinals

Japan made it to the quarterfinals at the Billie Jean King (BJK) Cup Finals in Malaga, Spain, where they were stopped by last year's runners-up, Italy, who emerged victorious with a 2-1 win. However, despite the loss, there was much to be pleased about for Ai Sugiyama's team and, on this evidence, much to look forward to.

This was the first appearance for Japan in the Finals of the premier women's international team competition since it was revamped in 2020. The Japanese team had secured their spot in the last 12 by winning their qualifying round tie against Kazakhstan in April, which they won 3-1. Two wins from Nao Hibino and a win from Naomi Osaka in the singles matches clinched victory for Japan. They lost the remaining dead rubber in the doubles.

Unfortunately for Japan, however, they had to play the Finals without their star player Osaka, who withdrew due to lower back and abdominal problems. This was particularly disappointing for the team as Osaka had looked to be in good form before injury struck, and they could really have benefited from her abilities in the Finals where the competing teams contain players of significant quality.

Nonetheless, even without the services of the former world no. 1, the Japanese team had reasons to be optimistic going into their first tie. They had drawn Romania, with the winner of the tie progressing to the quarterfinals to face Italy, who had a bye. It was a tie that felt winnable for the Japanese team but was by no means expected to be easy.

The first singles match was between Nao Hibino (ranked 152) and Ana Bogdan (ranked 116). Hibino was the hero of the qualifying round against Kazakhstan, where she got a big scalp against the much higher-ranked Yulia Putintseva to clinch victory in the tie. Here, however, it ended up being a relatively simple win for Bogdan, who won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.

That put pressure on Japan in the next singles match, as the best-of-three format meant they had to win to maintain a chance of progressing. Team captain Ai Sugiyama opted not to select their top-ranked singles player, Moyuka Uchijima. Instead, she selected Ena Shibahara for the match against the Romanian team's top player, Jaqueline Cristian, who is ranked around 60 places higher than her Japanese opponent. Sugiyama placed her trust in Shibahara on the back of an excellent first full year on the singles circuit. Shibahara—once a world no. 4 doubles player—decided to switch primarily to singles this season. Her performances have seen her rise from outside the top 500 at the start of the year to a current ranking of 135. She even qualified for her first major in singles at the US Open. Her selection by Sugiyama was perhaps the icing on the cake of a wonderful season for Shibahara, who said before the tie: “It was one of my dreams to play for my country and it was actually my grandparents' dream for me as we well".

And what a smart selection it proved to be. Shibahara ended up defeating Cristian 6-4, 7-6(2) to keep Japan's hopes alive. Despite not quite having the power of her Romanian opponent, Shibahara was able to use her variety to get the upper hand. She used her slices, well-executed drop shots, well-timed net approaches and some beautifully placed forehand winners to get the job done. Her brave play with that forehand in the tiebreak topped off an excellent win, which was her career-best win by ranking.

That left it to the doubles to decide the tie. The Japanese pairing of Shuko Aoyama and Eri Hozumi were selected to take on Romania's Monica Niculescu and Elena Gabriela-Ruse. Niculescu in particular has much doubles experience and among them had the highest ranking of 33. However, Aoyama and Hozumi have only been playing together since August and it has proved to be a fruitful partnership. Moreover, they headed into the tournament in great form, having won the WTA 500 title in Tokyo in October.

They clearly carried that good form into this match as the pair raced to a 6-1 lead against the Romanians. The Japanese pair were in control and seemed very fired up. However, the second set proved to be much more tricky. They had to come through a very nervy latter part of the set, squandering three match points and then getting broken when serving for the match at 5-4. However, Aoyama and Hozumi eventually prevailed 7-5 to take the match and the tie for Japan, sending the Japanese team and their small but boisterous group of fans in attendance into an explosion of delight.

And so they moved through to the quarterfinals. Make no mistake, this was a big deal for Japan. The last time they had reached the last eight of this competition was in 2013, when the event was still known as the Fed Cup. That time, they lost 3-2 to Russia (at that time, ties were still played home or away in a best-of-five format). This time they would face a very strong Italian team that included the current world no. 4 in singles, Jasmine Paolini. Paolini is also a very accomplished doubles player, having most notably clinched an Olympic gold medal for Italy this year alongside Sara Errani. There was no doubt the Italian team would present a much more daunting challenge for Japan than Romania had.

This time Shibahara was selected for the first singles match against Elisabetta Cocciaretto. The Italian is currently ranked 54 in the world and is certainly one of the toughest opponents Shibahara has played in her young singles career. The first set certainly didn't go as well for Shibahara as in her first match. She found herself down a break fairly quickly and couldn't break back, despite having numerous opportunities to do. She was playing well but not when it counted most. Eventually, Cocciaretto took the set 6-3.

But Shibahara wasn't disheartened and kept fighting. She continued to improve and was really busting a gut to make every ball, eventually taking the second set 6-4. In the deciding set she seemed to grow in confidence and that forehand started to cause much more damage and, on her fourth match point, took the set 6-4, giving Japan real hope of progressing. Not only that, this was once again Shibahara's best win by ranking, already beating her previous record from her win in the last tie.

And so we moved on to the next singles match, and a chance for Japan's number 1 player, Moyuka Uchijima, to finally show off the kind of skills that have seen her make a tremendous rise up the rankings from 172 at the start of the year to her current ranking of 56. There was just one problem; her next opponent was Jasmine Paolini. The last and only other time Uchijima had faced a top-5 opponent was against Aryna Sabalenka this year at the French Open. Sabalenka won that match convincingly, 6-2, 6-2. But of course Paolini is a very different style of opponent and Uchijima would face her in very different conditions.

At first, Uchijima seemed somewhat uncomfortable dealing with the speed and quality of Paolini's play. Uchijima's main weapon is her powerful top-spin forehand, but she had difficulty putting it to good use in the first set and the Italian won the first set 6-3. The second set went better, and it felt like Uchijima was starting to adjust to the level of play of the Italian, and was imposing herself much more successfully. After exchanging breaks, they were very much even until the score was at 4-4 on the Uchijima serve. After a really long deuce game with numerous advantages coming and going for each player, Paolini eventually took the break and served out the match in straightforward fashion to win 6-3, 6-4.

Thus, Japan's fate would come down once again to a deciding doubles match. Aoyama and Hozumi were selected again, this time to face the Olympic champions, Paolini and Errani. There were no illusions about how difficult this would be. And the task seemed even more daunting as Paolini and Errani came out the blocks flying. They took the first set 6-3 with a rather dominant performance. Things looked even worse as the Italians raced to a 5-1 lead in the second set. But admirably the Japanese pair continued to fight, and their creative, gutsy play brought the score back to 5-4. However, the Italians kept their cool and served out the match to win 6-3, 6-4.

And that was it. The Japanese team were out and it was the Italians who moved through to the semifinals of the BJK Cup. Nonetheless, the fact that Japan made it as competitive as they did should offer some serious hope for the future. The performances from Shibahara in particular should give much cause for excitement, especially the way she was able to come through the high-pressure moments so well. She is only barely getting going in her singles career and, given the players she has beaten so far (including in this competition), I expect she has a good chance to rise further up the rankings and well into the top 100. With more experience on the tour against quality players, she can improve even further.

The same can be said of Moyuka Uchijima. She is still finding her feet at the WTA Tour level, and at the age of 23 still has much time on her side. There is certainly much more potential to be found in her game. Meanwhile, the doubles pairing of Aoyama and Hozumi have only really been going since August, but already they have reached two WTA 250 finals and won a WTA 500 title. In this tournament, they showed how clutch they can be, saving 67% of break points. The Japanese team also have plenty of options for doubles as well, since Shibahara and Uchijima have had good success there as well.

And let's not forget that Japan were able to make the quarterfinals here without their most talented player, Naomi Osaka! If the other players progress as I expect they can, and Osaka stays fit and healthy next year, it could be the perfect recipe for Japan to do even better next year. But before they think about that, they'll have to navigate the BJK Cup Qualifiers, to be held in April next year. If they win their group there, they will progress to the Finals, which will only consist of 8 teams competing in a knockout format. Whatever happens, we'll surely be watching with much interest.