Backspin Sites

Sunday, November 16, 2025

Wk.47- And One More to Grow On...









*WEEK 47*
BILLIE JEAN KING CUP PLAYOFFS
[Group A - Monterrey, MEX; HCO] - CAN (MVP: Mboko)
[Group B - Gorzow Wielkopolski, POL; HCI] - POL (MVP: Swiatek)
[Group C - Cordoba, ARG; RCO] - SUI (MVP: Waltert)
[Group D - Varazdin, CRO; HCI] - CZE (MVP: Noskova)
[Group E - Hobart, AUS; HCO] - AUS (MVP: Joint)
[Group F - Ismaning, GER; HCI] - BEL (MVP: Vandewinkel)
[Group G - Bengaluru, IND; HCO] - SLO (MVP: Zidansek)

WHEELCHAIR MASTERS (Huzhou, CHN; Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Li Xiaohui/CHN 6-2/6-2
D: Yui Kamiji/Zhu Zhenzhen (JPN/CHN) def. Li Xiaohui/Wang Ziying (CHN/CHN) 1-6/6-0 [10-8]




2025 BJK CUP PLAYOFFS - GROUP WINNERS & MVPs




A CAN ...DEN,MEX(h) Victoria Mboko

...in Monterrey, Canada left the host squad from Mexico at the final altar with a sweep of the singles -- Carson Branstine def. Julia Garcia, Mboko d. Renata Zarazua -- to square away the Group-deciding final tie of the entire BJK Cup weekend.

On Saturday, Mboko contributed a pair of wins in a 2-1 triumph over Denmark, joining with Gaby Dabrowski to win the deciding doubles. On Sunday evening, her clinching win over Zarazua improved her career Cup mark to 5-0 (4-0 singles, 1-0 doubles, all this season). Overall, the Canadian ends her breakout season on a seven-match singles winning streak (w/ her title run in Hong Kong) and 9-1 closing stretch, giving her an overall 62-14 solo record in 2025.

Mboko had been scheduled to play the doubles on Sunday, as well, with a four-win round robin within reach. But the dead rubber doubles match was called off after the teenager's less-than-an-hour victory over Zarazua.

Meanwhile, despite being the hard luck team of Group A, going 0-2 with a pair of deciding doubles defeats, Denmark had a team member post what was likely the most remarkable win of the season's final Cup weekend. 20-year old Rebecca Munk Mortensen, who came into the week with an eleven-match BJK Cup combined s/d losing streak, defeated Canada's Cadence Brace in a 3-6/7-6(4)/7-6(4), 3:38 marathon in which the Dane saved a MP in the 2nd set TB, then *eight* more at 6-5 in the 3rd (recovering from going down love/40) before ultimately winning a 7-4 deciding TB to get the win.


============================================



B POL(h) ...NZL,ROU Iga Swiatek

....after a disappointing time at the WTA Finals, Swiatek had a final epilogue to tack onto her season, as she returned home to Poland to lead her nation's Cup squad from by BJK Playoffs back into the '26 Qualifiers. Swiatek went 2-0 vs. Elyse Tse (NZL) and Gabriela Lee (ROU), dropping a total of three games as Poland coasted without dropping a set over six matches.

Her two wins edged Swiatek one victory past Aryna Sabalenka (64 to 63) for the most tour-level wins (for which BJK victories, above zone play, have traditionally qualified) on tour in '25.


============================================




C SUI ...ARG(h),SVK Simona Waltert

....a clutch performance from the Swiss team edged out the host Argentines, as the nation won a pair of deciding doubles contests en route to going 2-0 in round robin play.

Both nations took turns knocking off the Slovaks in the opening two ties, with Celine Naef & Waltert winning a DD to force a Sunday face-off for a spot in the Qualifiers vs. Argentina. After wins from Julia Riera (ARG) and Waltert, Waltert returned once again with Naef to defeat Riera & Jazmin Ortenzi 6-4/6-1 to win Group E.

Waltert was the only player in the seven groups of three-nation round robins to post the highest possible total match win total (4) on the week. And Switzerland needed every single point, with all of them coming in "live" matches.


============================================




D CZE ...COL,CRO(h) Linda Noskova

....befitting the farewell tour/changing-of-the-guard that this year's Cup competition represented for the Czechs, new national #1 Noskova fittingly played the part of leader in Varazdin (CRO) as she led the Czechs into the '26 Qualifiers with a triumphant Sunday two-fer in a final tie for all the Group D marbles.

The Czechs opened RR play with a 3-0 win over Colombia (w/ Noskova def. Camila Osorio), then faced off with their Croatian hosts in a winners-take-all closing tie. After Croatia's Petra Marcinko defeated Nikola Bartunkova, followed by Noskova's win over Antonia Ruzic, Noskova returned alongside Lucie Havlickova to defeat Jana Fett & Marcinko in a deciding doubles three-setter to advance.

Marcinko, along with seeking her nation's win in the Group, had been seeking a 4-0 combined s/d week heading into her second deciding doubles match of the weekend.



By the way, this week's competition officially marks the end of the Petr Pala era of captaincy for the Czech team, an unmatched 17-year stretch for a national captain during which his charges won six Cup titles (the most ever won by a nation's captain). Barbora Strycova will assume the reigns in 2026.


============================================




E AUS(h) ...BRA,POR Maya Joint

....the Aussies enjoyed home cooking in Hobart, winning a pair of three-setters in an all-or-nothing, play-closing tie vs. Brazil. After Kimberly Birrell outlasted 15-year old Nauhany Leme Da Silva (who'd posted her first Cup win in the previous tie, two months after winning a maiden MD tour-level-match in Sao Paulo), Joint saved a 2nd set MP vs. Laura Pigossi en route to the clincher.

Meanwhile, spare a moment of silence for Portugal's Jorge sisters, Francisca and Matilde, who combined to go 0-for-the-family in five s/d matches across three ties.


============================================

F BEL ...GER(h),TUR Hanne Vandewinkel

....Belgium (captained by Wim Fissette) battled from behind to take the win, claiming the deciding doubles vs. Turkey (after Vandewinkel kept the tie alive with a win over Zeynep Sonmez), with Sofia Costoulas/Magali Kempen defeating Ayla Aksu/Ipek Oz 4-6/7-6(1)/7-6(7) after saving two MP in the 3rd set TB, then handing Germany its fourth straight match loss of the long weekend with a 2-0 win on Sunday.

In the final tie, U.S. Open girls' champ (and recent Junior Finals winner) Jeline Vandromme celebrated her 18th birthday with a three-set win over Anna-Lena Friedsam.



Vandewinkel then clinched the Waffles' advancement with a love & 4 win over Ella Seidel. Seidel had opened play with a singles win in the first tie of the competition (vs. TUR), but it turned out to be the host nation's only victory. Germany lost three straight three setters (including a big win from Sonmez over Eva Lys in a love 3rd set).


============================================




G SLO ...NED,IND(h) Tamara Zidansek

....Zidansek (with two tie-opening wins) and Kaja Juvan (two Match #2 clinchers) both went undefeated over two ties as Slovenia's 4-0 singles mark wrapped up the Group victory with an entire day left to play (NED def. IND on Sunday to finish 2nd), making the nation the only to do so of the seven that advanced this weekend.

Slovenia last played in the BJK Finals event in 2023, reaching the nation's first Cup semis.


============================================






kosova-font

WHEELCHAIR: Yui Kamiji/JPN
...the wheelchair season-ending championships (aka the Wheelchair Masters) took place this week in Huzhou, China. Diede de Groot, who won six straight titles from 2017-23 before hip surgery last year, was absent for a second straight November, leading to yet another opportunity clutched with both hands by Kamiji.

The Japanese veteran swept the s/d titles, winning her third Masters singles crown (second in a row) and fourth in doubles. Her 6-2/6-2 victory in the final over Li Xiaohui avenged her loss to the Chinese woman in round robin play, and improved her mark in their head-to-head to 8-3 (5-3 in '25).

The 33-time slam champ (and double Paralympic Gold winner last year) completes her best career big-title season, adding this win to her triumphs in Melbourne, Paris and New York (w/ a RU at Wimbledon), as well as taking her second big WD crown of the year (w/ RG) via her title alongside Zhu Zhenzhen. The 1-6/6-0 [10-8] win over Li & Wang Ziying, who'd been looking to add to a '25 haul that included three major titles, allows Zhu to beat her countrywomen to the punch by becoming the first Chinese woman to win a Wheelchair Masters crown.

This season, Li & Wang had become the first-ever Chinese doubles slam winners at the AO, RG and U.S., with Wang also being the maiden singles winner from the nation at Wimbledon (denying Kamiji in the SW19 final the lone major title she's never won, a feat only previously accomplished amongst women's rollers by de Groot).









futuristic-fonts










kosova-font





kosova-font





kosova-font





kosova-font


















futuristic-fonts





kosova-font

*BACKSPIN FED CUP/BJK CUP AWARDS*
*-non-title winning nation
[FED CUP/BJK CUP PLAYER OF YEAR - season]
2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2006 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2007 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2008 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2009 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2010 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2012 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2013 Roberta Vinci, ITA
2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2015 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2016 Caroline Garcia, FRA*
2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2018 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2019 Ash Barty, AUS*
2020-21 Jil Teichmann, SUI*
2022 Belinda Bencic, SUI
2023 Leylah Fernandez, CAN
2024 Iga Swiatek, POL*
2025 Elina Svitolina, UKR*
[FED CUP/BJK CUP CAPTAIN OF YEAR - season]
2015 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA*
2016 Paul Haarhuis, NED*
2017 Kathy Rinaldi, USA
2018 Kathy Rinaldi, USA*
2019 Julien Benneteau, FRA
2020-21 Igor Andreev, RUS (RTF)
2022 Alicia Molik, AUS*
2023 Tathiana Garbin, ITA*
2024 Matej Liptak, SVK*
2025 Tathiana Garbin, ITA
[FED CUP/BJK CUP FINALS MVP]
2002 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2003 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
2004 Anastasia Myskina, RUS
2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2006 Francesa Schiavone, ITA
2007 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2008 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2009 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2010 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2012 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2013 Roberta Vinci, ITA
2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2015 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2016 Barbora Strycova, CZE
2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2018 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2019 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2021 Liudmila Samsonova, RUS (RTF)
2022 Belinda Bencic, SUI
2023 Leylah Fernandez, CAN
2024 Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini, ITA
2025 Jasmine Paolini, ITA

*WHEELCHAIR TENNIS MASTERS CHAMPIONS*
[singles]
1994 Monique Kalkman, NED
1995 Monique Kalkman, NED
1996 Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
1997 Maaike Smit, NED
1998 Esther Vergeer, NED
1999 Esther Vergeer, NED
2000 Esther Vergeer, NED
2001 Esther Vergeer, NED
2002 Esther Vergeer, NED
2003 Esther Vergeer, NED
2004 Esther Vergeer, NED
2005 Esther Vergeer, NED
2006 Esther Vergeer, NED
2007 Esther Vergeer, NED
2008 Esther Vergeer, NED
2009 Esther Vergeer, NED
2010 Esther Vergeer, NED
2011 Esther Vergeer, NED
2012 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2013 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2014 Aniek van Koot, NED
2015 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2016 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2017 Diede de Groot, NED
2018 Diede de Groot, NED
2019 Diede de Groot, NED
2020 DNP
2021 Diede de Groot, NED
2022 Diede de Groot, NED
2023 Diede de Groot, NED
2024 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2025 Yui Kamiji, JPN
[doubles]
2000 Daniela di Toro/Maaike Smit (AUS/NED)
2001 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2002 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2003 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2004 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2005 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2006 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2007 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2008 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2009 Korie Homan/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2010 Aniek Van Koot/Sharon Walraven (NED/NED)
2011 Esther Vergeer/Sharon Walraven (NED/NED)
2012 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek Van Koot (NED/NED)
2013 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley (JPN/GBR)
2014 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley (JPN/GBR)
2015 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek Van Koot (NED/NED)
2016 Diede de Groot/Lucy Shuker (NED/GBR)
2017 Marjolein Buis/Diede de Groot (NED/NED)
2018 Marjolein Buis/Aniek Van Koot (NED/NED)
2019 Diede de Groot/Aniek Van Koot (NED/NED)
2020 DNP
2021 Diede de Groot/Aniek Van Koot (NED/NED)
2022 Diede de Groot/Aniek Van Koot (NED/NED)
2023 Yui Kamiji/Kgothatso Montjane (JPN/RSA)
2024 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek Van Koot (NED/NED)
2025 Yui Kamiji/Zhu Zhenzhen (JPN/CHN)







futuristic-fonts



kosova-font

We gotta have a clear term for people so cynical they become gullible.

— Adam Serwer (@adamserwer.bsky.social) November 12, 2025 at 11:55 AM


kosova-font

For real, check this out. Evil.

[image or embed]

— Parker Molloy (@parkermolloy.com) November 14, 2025 at 12:55 PM


kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font


WTA slam winners in 2025: Madison, Coco, Iga and, finally, Aryna...







All for now.
Posted by at