BILLIE JEAN KING CUP

September 22, 2026

Barbora Strycova

Linda Noskova

Team Czechia

Press Conference

L. NOSKOVA/K. Boulter

6-2, 7-6

Team Czechia - 2

Team Great Britain - 0

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, Barbora. Nice debut as a captain. Thoughts on this first match.

CAPTAIN STRYCOVA: It was long (smiling). Obviously the first match was incredible long. Yeah, I enjoy every minute of it. It's like I said already before, it's a privilege to have such a team. Being a captain of these amazing girls, they are just big champions.

Yeah, I'm enjoying, like I said, every minute of it.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Barbora, could you talk through the process of selecting your players for today. You have a lot of different options you can use for singles. How did you end up with Marie and Linda playing today?

CAPTAIN STRYCOVA: Well, we got together as a team and we were discussing what would be the best, who would be playing the best. My decision was I saw Marie playing very well this week, the days before.

Yeah, the selection was after, like I said, discussing with the players and with the team members that Marie will play and Linda.

Q. Linda, it was a close match. You won the first four games pretty comfortably, then it was kind of a close match. Did that give you a good cushion and enable you to play in a relaxed way after being so quickly ahead?

LINDA NOSKOVA: Well, it's always an advantage to kind of get a break in the very first game. I knew that the start was going to be maybe a little bit shaky. That's why I chose to return first.

I always just focused on myself, on my service games, which paid off especially in the second set, as I was always kind of behind Katie.

But yeah, it was a great match overall.

Q. What are your plans to recover? You have two days until the semifinals. Are you going to watch tomorrow's match? Get out into the city and just relax? Is it straight back to practice tomorrow?

LINDA NOSKOVA: I think all three things at once (smiling). I feel like we're definitely going to practice. Nothing is going to change really. We're going to do some recovery, which is not always as easy when you're playing normal tournaments. You don't really get those days off. So it's a different way.

But yeah, we're going to relax off court, as well.

Q. Semifinals, you could potentially play against Spain. Some quick thoughts on Team Spain.

CAPTAIN STRYCOVA: Well, we don't know yet (smiling).

But all of the teams who are playing here, they are dangerous. I said this before, playing these teams, these Billie Jean King Cup, everybody can play amazing. Yeah, they have a great players.

We will try in these two days practice a little bit and get some energy back. We will be ready for Friday, whoever it is.

Q. Linda, you just won Wimbledon this year. Also you have 18 aces in the US Open against Sabalenka. How did you manage to play at such a high level? For this court here in Shenzhen, is there any technical changes? What do you think of the atmosphere from the crowd?

LINDA NOSKOVA: Well, it's always very important to rely on my serve, especially in these tough games, especially when I'm playing against someone who is serving well, as well. So if it's a tough match, you always are welcoming kind of all those free points that you get from your serve.

The atmosphere here was really nice. I didn't expect so many people. I knew that the Czech fan club will be coming. I was really, really glad I could see Chinese fans cheering for both sides. It's always nice to see the balance.

Q. Linda, interesting question for you. During the game, very special fans from your country were here. What is your feeling when you hear the sounds from the fans? This really makes things different?

LINDA NOSKOVA: Well, I think I got used to them at this point thankfully. The very first time I played for Czech Republic, these guys were there, it was very unusual for me because it doesn't happen ever in our singles matches or doubles or just in regular tournaments on tour.

This is a different change, but I love it. I love that they travel so much and they're at every match of ours. It's really nice to see them here.

Q. Linda, in today's match you had many aces, especially through the tiebreak. You have a relatively easy win with the aces. How did you manage to do that? What was going on in your mind at that moment? Your team is the favorite for this Billie Jean King Cup. What is your vision for Billie Jean King Cup?

LINDA NOSKOVA: Well, the vision is to win it, obviously, otherwise we wouldn't be here. Everybody wants to win it. It's a very competitive tournament. There's a lot of great players in each country. It's never easy.

Q. How did you manage to hit so many aces? What was going on through your mind during the match?

LINDA NOSKOVA: As I said, I was focusing mainly on myself, as I always know which works for me. I don't know. I practice serve a lot, so that's why (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.