The Polish team, comprising of Iga Świątek and Katarzyna Kawa, won 2:1 against Marie Bouzková and Kateřina Siniaková in their doubles matches in the southern Spanish city of Malagá.
The Czechs have the second highest number of titles (6) after the United States (18) in the Billie Jean King Cup, which is the world's largest annual women's international team sports competition in relation to the number of countries that compete.
Poland’s rivals were a side that should not be underestimated. Siniaková is the current leader of the world doubles ranking, with nine Grand Slam titles to her credit, as well as a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics (2021). In July this year in the Paris Olympics, meanwhile, she won gold in the mixed doubles.
The Polish team won eight straight games. As a result, they won the first set 6:2, and in the second set they were already leading 4:0. At that point they had a slight crisis and the Czechs leveled at 4:4, but Świątek and Kawa recovered and did not let their rivals win more.
Świątek, the world’s number two in singles, has hardly played doubles since the 2022 season.
"It was something amazing, I haven't played doubles for a long time,” she said in an on-court interview.
“I'll probably feel dead in 20 minutes, but if it's necessary, I'll play doubles again in the semifinals, because it's my last tournament of the year," she added.
The rivalry with the Czech Republic finished on November 17, the day of Kawa's 32nd birthday.
“I couldn't have dreamed of a better gift. Playing together with Iga and winning, it's a great start to the day,” Kawa said.
In Monday's semifinals, the Poles will play against Italy, who defeated Japan 2:1.
The tournament, formerly known as the Fed Cup, was renamed the Billie Jean King Cup in 2020 to honor the American, a 12-time winner of Grand Slam events who was on the winning US team in the first edition of the team competition in 1963.
