SHENZHEN, China (AP) — In July they played each other in the Wimbledon final. Now, Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova have teamed together to win the Billie Jean King Cup for Czechia.
The sixth-ranked Noskova and the eighth-ranked Muchova each won their singles matches Sunday as Czechia beat Ukraine 2-0 in the final of the women's tennis team event.
Noskova sealed it by beating the seventh-ranked Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6 (5) after Muchova beat 47th-ranked Anhelina Kalinina 6-2, 6-3.
Czechia, formerly known as the Czech Republic, earned its 12th title in the competition previously called the Fed Cup — and first since 2018. Only the United States, which did not qualify for the finals, has won more with a record 18 titles.
Czech captain Barbora Strycova became the fourth woman to win the competition as both a player and a captain, joining Margaret Court, Chris Evert and event namesake Billie Jean King.
Strycova won three titles with Czechia as a player before assuming the captaincy this year.
Czechia also shut out Britain in the quarterfinals and Spain in the semifinals — meaning that its top-ranked doubles standout Katerina Siniakova never even had to play this week.
In this year's all-Czech Wimbledon final, Noskova beat Muchova for her first Grand Slam title.
Ukraine eliminated two-time defending champion Italy in the semifinals and was playing its first final.
Ukraine was without 10th-ranked Marta Kostyuk due to a right wrist injury.
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