Billie Jean King Cup 2023: China beat India 3-0 to halt winning run

This was the first loss for the Indian team led by Shalini Thakur Chawla.

India suffered its first loss to China (0-3) at the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Group I Asia/Oceania held in Uzbekistan. India couldn't win a single set in the three ties played and the chances of qualifying for the playoffs look unlikely (if not for a major upset). Rutuja Bhosale started off the proceedings and was up against Xinyu Jiang.

Jiang is unranked in the senior circuit and does not possess much experience as well. Rutuja, 400th in the WTA singles for singles, had an edge over the Chinese but couldn't convert them into points, losing in straight sets (3-6, 5-7). This was Rutuja’s second loss of the Billie Jean King Cup, having lost the previous one against Thailand. The Indian committed four double faults and had poor break points conversion ratio. 

Ankita Raina failed to inspire

India’s top-ranked (WTA 221) women’s singles player Ankita Raina also couldn't do much today, losing to 123rd-ranked Yue Yuan in straight sets (7-5, 6-1). Ankita Raina beat the Chinese in the previous encounter at an ITF tournament in 2019 but couldn't match up to that performance in the Billie Jean King Cup. 

The top-ranked Indian in both singles and doubles came back strongly after trailing to reduce the deficit to one game (1-4) to (4-5). She ultimately lost the first set and escaped from getting a bagel in the second set. She helped India win in the first round against Thailand but couldn't replicate the same today.

Vaidehi Chaudhari and Shrivalli Ramakrishna Bhamidipaty paired up for the second successive time in the doubles section. Vaidehi made a good start winning her debut match yesterday but lost to Xinyu Jiang and Zhaoxuan Yang in straight sets (0-6, 1-6). The Chinese players once again out-smashed India winning the third-round tie (3-0).  

India is currently placed third and will take on Japan/South Korea in the fourth round of the Billie Jean King Cup.