Paula Badosa of Spain hits a return against Zheng Qinwen of China during their women's singles match on day three of the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on Sept 21, 2022. (PHILIP FONG / AFP)

Paula Badosa won on her Billie Jean King Cup debut as she battled past Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in three sets to secure victory for Spain in the Group C tie on Wednesday.

Badosa, currently ranked 13th in the world, won 6-2 3-6 6-4 over Rybakina, giving Spain a chance to go into the semi-finals if they win over Britain on Thursday.

Belinda Bencic led Switzerland to victory over Italy in their opening tie, while Slovakia bounced back from a tough loss to Australia to defeat Belgium and get their campaign back on track

Belinda Bencic led Switzerland to victory over Italy in their opening tie, while Slovakia bounced back from a tough loss to Australia to defeat Belgium and get their campaign back on track.

Olympic champion Bencic, the world number 12, saw off Jasmine Paolini 7-5 6-3 to secure the Group A tie for Switzerland after Jil Teichmann saved a match point en route to her thrilling 6-3 4-6 7-6(5) win over Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

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Bencic returned to court half an hour later to team up with Teichmann and wrap up a flawless day for last year's finalists as they beat Paolini and Martina Trevisan 7-6(5) 6-1 to complete a 3-0 sweep.

Earlier, Viktoria Kuzmova and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova won their singles ties to help secure a 2-1 victory over Belgium in their final Group B tie.

Kuzmova had lost to Ajla Tomljanovic on Wednesday but bagged a valuable doubles point with Tereza Mihalikova, and she carried that momentum into her powerful 6-2 7-6(7) win over Ysaline Bonaventure of Belgium.

Schmiedlova sealed the tie for Slovakia in a tenacious 5-7 6-2 6-3 win over Maryna Zanevska before the doubles pairing of Elise Mertens and Kirsten Flipkens got Belgium on the board with a crushing 6-0 6-3 win over Kuzmova and Mihalikova.

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The competition, formerly called the Fed Cup, was renamed in honour of the 12-times American Grand Slam champion and restructured into a format concluding with 12 nations competing over one week for the title.

The United States will take on Poland in Group D later on Wednesday.