BILLIE JEAN KING CUP

September 22, 2026

Yuriy Schukin

Yulia Putintseva

Anna Danilina

Zhibek Kulambayeva

Sonja Zhiyenbayeva

Team Kazakhstan

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for attending the press conference of Team Kazakhstan.

Captain, you had a quick turnaround, arriving last night. You practiced this morning. How is the team? Say a few words about the conditions here.

CAPTAIN SCHUKIN: Hello, everyone. Well, the girls already couple days here. They all feeling well, first of all. We already practice on those courts. I think they're ready to play matches.

Yeah, I arrive a little bit late because of matches, the boys was playing tough match. Still, we managed to come here, so this is most important.

THE MODERATOR: Anna, obviously you're a very experienced player in this competition. What do you think Team Kazakhstan can bring to the table tomorrow against Spain? What are your strengths?

ANNA DANILINA: Yeah, I feel like we have really good chances. All the girls are ready. Every time we come to play for our team, for our country, everyone is bringing their best game.

Yeah, I think we're going to try our best. I think we have pretty good chances, all of us, yeah (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: We'll open the floor for questions, please.

Q. Yulia, I wonder if you could talk a bit about facing Spain tomorrow, what you think their strengths are. I think Bucsa is their number one here. What do you know about her game and so on?

YULIA PUTINTSEVA: I played with Bucsa couple of weeks ago. I saw her a lot on tour. Obviously she's there for a few years already.

I still don't know who they're going to put against us, but we're ready for anything. Pretty much experienced player. I think I will find my way to do my best.

Q. Captain, Spain have had some players arriving late, who are still maybe even not here. Is that an advantage for your team or is it the opposite because the Spanish players are arriving in good form?

CAPTAIN SCHUKIN: Well, it's a sort of team, like, all the players are good. Even though they arriving late, it means they're playing well in the tournaments, they have a confidence. You never know.

But anyway our team is ready. Doesn't matter who they going to play. We don't know, like, which player is going to play against us. Most important, our team is ready.

Q. Sonja, I know you've had some really good results on the World Tennis Tour the last few weeks. How do you feel that has helped you prepare for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals?

SONJA ZHIYENBAYEVA: I'm super excited to play here and try my best. Obviously it's a different kind of level here. We'll see how it feels on the court. But I'm really excited and confident in my game. I hope it goes well.

Q. Yulia, we know that you are very good at playing tough, long matches. Coming to Shenzhen this time, have you made any technical changes?

YULIA PUTINTSEVA: No (laughter).

Basically I'm going to play the way I play always. I'm going to fight for every point. I'm going to try to help my team to get the points and to get us through. That's my main goal. That's what I'm here for.

Q. As the most experienced player on the team, you have participated in the BJK before, what will you bring to the team? Will you encourage your teammates?

YULIA PUTINTSEVA: I bring a lot of happiness, a lot of joy to my team because I'm very funny and sarcastic person. I think girls love to spend time with me because I always give a good comments about everything.

Thank you very much for asking (smiling).

Q. Anna, we have noticed some changes to your team. How are you going to cope with these changes? Are there any internal changes?

ANNA DANILINA: You mean outside of the BJK team? Just for myself, my own team?

Q. We notice there's some changes in your team for this. How are you going to cope with it?

ANNA DANILINA: No, I mean, we had the same team playing against Canada in April. Yeah, the same girls. We know each other very well, for a long time. We practice together.

No big changes, yeah.