Japan’s Billie Jean King Cup captain has reacted to her team’s elimination from the tournament on Thursday at the hands of Great Britain.
The Japanese team, who were without injured star player Naomi Osaka, struggled to make their mark on the British, eventually losing 2-0.
In the first rubber, British number three Sonay Kartal defeated Eni Shibahara 6-3, 7-6, before Katie Boulter clinched the tie with a resounding 6-2 6-1 victory over Moyuka Uchijima.
Ai Sugiyama, former world number one in doubles, spoke to the media after the match, offering her take on the loss.
The 50-year-old, a former doubles finalist at the Australian Open, also reflected on the absence of Osaka.
Ai Sugiyama says Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter played at a really high level
During the post-match press conference following Uchijima’s defeat, Sugiyama said: “Yeah, I mean, I knew that Great Britain is going to be a tough opponent. Yeah, Moyuka fought really hard. Yeah, today wasn’t our day. I mean, Kartal and Boulter played really well, high level of tennis. I really like to congratulate them.
“Overall, it was good to be here because it’s the top eight, best eight. Being the quarterfinals two years in a row was not too bad for us. Next year try to work on certain things that today’s match we know what we have to do to be better. We work on it and try to be in a better place.”
The Japanese captain then discussed the absence of star player Naomi Osaka, and the future of Japanese tennis moving forward.
Sugiyama added: “Unfortunately, Naomi wasn’t here. She’s playing really good tennis again.
“Unfortunately, she got injured right before coming here. US Open semis, Montreal run-up. She’s doing really good. So hopefully she can play for Team Japan again.
“Also, the young ones are playing better now. Wakana Sonobe, she won the Grand Slam juniors. She’s now 200 something [ranking]. She’s also an upcoming player.
“We’re working on really to be a better team. As a team, we have a really great spirit like from young ones, the players who have experience. I’m so happy to work with these girls. They’re so nice.
“Hopefully, we are going to be stronger coming back next year.”
Katie Boulter’s serving rollercoaster
Katie Boulter’s relationship with her serve has been a whirlwind experience.
The British number two has noted struggling with the shot on more than one occasion. In fact, she said the shot had ‘cost me the match’ after her heartbreaking loss to Rebecca Sramkova in the 2024 BJK Cup semi-finals.
Boulter had led by a set against Sramkova, before losing 6-2, 4-6, 4-6.
Following Britain’s semi-final exit against Slovakia last year, Boulter told reporters: “Yeah, I mean, obviously a world-class player, someone who plays above their ranking. I knew that going in I knew how tough today was going to be.
“I couldn’t let it slip at any point, and, you know, I felt like I started to struggle a little bit on serve. That basically was the match for me.
“I was still there fighting, giving everything I possibly could, but ultimately I didn’t serve well enough, which kind of cost me the match.
“But, I mean, credit to her. She played some very good tennis and started to adapt from the way I was playing in the first set, and, I mean, it’s natural for players to do that. But, yeah, I couldn’t dig it out in the end, but I gave it everything I got.”
A year later at the US Open, Boulter was struggling on her serve once more.
Following her 6-4, 6-4 loss to Marta Kostyuk in the US Open second round, Boulter said: “I think there was definitely a mix of how I was playing today. I felt like off the ground I was much better than I have been the last few weeks, which is promising.
“It’s a good step forward in terms of that. Obviously, there was the odd point here or there where it was a little cheap, but that is part of tennis.
“However, for me, I need to address the serving. I mean, we’ve been trying so many different things, but nothing is quite working yet.
“But I think that side of my game needs to improve, and I think if I can sort that, everything else will fall back into place.”
While these serving issues have hampered her in the past, Boulter has much to be hopeful about following her victory over Moyuka Uchijima.
Boulter’s strong serving performance against Moyuka Uchijima
Katie Boulter’s strong serving performance on Thursday helped her sweep aside any threat Moyuka Uchijima may have posed.
As per Sofascore, Boulter won 70 per cent of her first serve points and a staggering 63 per cent of her second serve points.
The Brit also faced only two break-points on her serve, both of which she saved.
Boulter’s return game was also firing, as she won 74 per cent of all points on the Uchijima second serve.
If Boulter can repeat the form she showed against the Japanese player when Britain face the USA, the nation will certainly be hopeful of a first BJK Cup final appearance since 1981.
During her post-match press conference, Boulter previewed Britain’s semi-final against the US.
The Brit said: “The semifinal is another opportunity. We’ve been in this position twice before. I think me, myself, I know what to expect. We’ve got some world-class tennis players down the other end.
“They also don’t know what we’re capable of. I think we’re all going to have a free swing and get after them, for sure. We’ve got nothing to lose. I’m very excited for this next tie.”
