[Life] 2026 Billie Jean King Cup Begins, Hsieh Su-wei Names Liang En-shuo as Partner

The 2026 Billie Jean King Cup women's tennis Asia/Oceania Group II tournament kicked off today (15th) at the National Tennis Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Taiwan team had a bye on the first day and will face host Malaysia in their opening match on the 16th. Coach Hsiao Cheng-yi stated that 19-year-old Wan Yi-wen will play the first singles match, and Yang Ya-yi will compete in the second singles. The doubles will be handled by Hsieh Su-wei and Liang En-shuo. This trip for the Taiwan team is led by Hsieh Su-wei's brother, Hsieh Cheng-ying, as head coach, with Wu Chien-chih as the women's team coach and Lin Tai-chiao as the men's team coach. Wu Chien-chih revealed that it was Hsieh Su-wei who specifically requested to partner with Liang En-shuo. The pair is also expected to compete together at the Asian Games in Nagoya, and this Billie Jean King Cup can be seen as an early warm-up. Taiwan has a historical record of 1 win and 0 losses against Malaysia. Liang En-shuo is in excellent form recently. After reaching the women's doubles semifinals at the French Open, she recently partnered with Japanese veteran Shuko Aoyama in the Netherlands 250 event, winning her first WTA Tour doubles title and reaching a career-high doubles ranking of World No. 31. After winning the title, she immediately flew from Amsterdam, transiting through Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur, arriving at the hotel late on the 14th. Therefore, she did not attend the opening ceremony on the morning of the 15th, staying at the hotel to rest and adjust to the time difference. Regarding the potential partnership with Hsieh Su-wei, Liang En-shuo said she would follow the coach's arrangements and admitted she was very happy to win her first title last week. As for her previous four losses in finals, she calmly stated, "If you lose in the final, just keep trying; there will always be opportunities." When talking about the French Open women's doubles semifinals, she attributed the result to the team's full cooperation, saying, "Just do your best and naturally accept the win or loss." Hsieh Su-wei also practiced at the court on the afternoon of the 15th, but due to afternoon thunderstorms in Kuala Lumpur disrupting the schedule, she had to move to an indoor court for warm-up. She went through stretching, flexibility exercises, jogging, forehand and backhand strokes, volleys, overhead smashes, serves, and cool-down exercises, a full practice session lasting 5 hours, demonstrating her readiness. This year's Billie Jean King Cup features 10 teams, divided into Group A and Group B for round-robin play. The top two teams from each group will advance to the cross-semifinals, with the winners earning a ticket to the 2027 Asia/Oceania Group I. The bottom two teams from each group will enter the relegation playoffs, with the losers being demoted to Asia/Oceania Group III next year. In Group B, where Taiwan is placed, Malaysia defeated Laos 3-0 in their opening match, and Uzbekistan defeated Sri Lanka. (Editor: Shen Chen-chiang)