Billie Jean King Cup 2022: Coco Gauff, Paula Badosa and Bianca Andreescu among the top stars competing in the finals
Following a grand debut in Prague last year, the finals of the second edition of the rebranded "Billie Jean King Cup" is all set to get underway. This historic competition, formerly known as the Fed Cup into its 59th year, was renamed in Billie Jean King's honor in 2020.
It is an annual competition between the world's best women's national tennis teams. The 12 teams who have made it to the finals are split into four groups of three teams each, and will play matches in a round-robin style. The group toppers will then proceed to the semi-finals.
Great Britain automatically qualified as the hosts. Switzerland, the 2021 runner-up, Czech Republic, Canada, Italy, Spain, Kazakhstan, USA, and Poland are among the 12 teams that have made it.
Australia, the highest-ranked 2021 semifinalists, replaced Russia in the tournament on account of their suspension owing to the invasion of Ukraine. This meant that Slovakia, who were scheduled to face Australia for a place in the Finals, were awarded a bye in the qualifying rounds.
Following the suspension of the Belarusian Tennis Federation from international team competitions, Belgium were awarded a walkover in their qualification fixture. This edition of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals will be filled with rising and established stars such as Grand Slam champions Barbora Krejcikova, Bianca Andreescu, and Elena Rybakina.
Paula Badosa, Olympic medallist Belinda Bencic, Leylah Fernandez, Coco Gauff, and Karolina Pliskova will also be seen competing in the tournament. The winners will be crowned the Women's World Cup of Tennis champions on Sunday, November 13.
Iga Swiatek and Emma Raducanu are not competing in the Billie Jean King Cup 2022
World No.1 Swiatek guided Poland into the final stage earlier this year, but owing to the tight schedule after the WTA Finals, she won't be in Glasgow. The tournament in Glasgow begins just a day after the WTA Finals final in Fort Worth, Texas.
Despite the fact that certain athletes will compete in both competitions, notably Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Coco Gauff of the USA, Swiatek has stated that the "situation is not safe for our health" and "may cause harm." Here is an excerpt from her statement:
“I’m disappointed that tennis governing bodies didn’t come to an agreement on something as basic as the calendar of tournaments, giving us only one day to travel through the globe and changing the time zone. The situation is not safe for our health and could cause injury. I’m going to talk to the WTA and ITF in order to change something. This situation is difficult not only for the players like me, but mainly for the tennis fans that support our sport,” she said.
Emma Raducanu ended her 2022 season, her first full year on tour, after withdrawing from the Billie Jean King Cup Finals recently due to persistent fitness issues.
The November 8–13 event was supposed to be graced by Raducanu as part of the Great Britain squad that also included Katie Boulter, Heather Watson, and Harriet Dart under the leadership of Anne Keothavong. The teenager announced her withdrawal earlier this week after receiving medical advice not to participate, regretting the sad decision she was forced to arrive at.
"It’s disappointing to get the news from the doctors that I won’t be ready in time, particularly with [the Billie Jean King Cup] being on home soil," Emma Raducanu said in a statement by the LTA.
"I tried to do everything possible to get it ready in time, since my last tournament I have been working every day on physical training and rehab," she added.