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Billie Jean King Cup Finals Guide: How does the ‘Tennis World Cup’ work?


Although the 2023 WTA season is coming to a close, there is still plenty more tennis to be played and a new world champion to be crowned at the Billie Jean King Cup (BJK Cup) Finals.

And we, at Tennishead, have got all the information you need ahead of the ‘Tennis World Cup’:

What is the Billie Jean King Cup?

The Billie Jean King Cup was founded as the Federation Cup back in 1963, to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

It changed its name in 1995 to the Fed Cup, and was altered once again in 2020 to honour the legendary former No.1 Billie Jean King.

The BJK Cup is labelled as the ‘World Cup of Tennis’ by the aforementioned King, and features an array of different divisions from the World Group to Group IV in some regions.

Nations compete to work their way up the different groups, with the eventual goal to qualify for the BJK Cup Finals that take place at the end of each year.

Some ties are still played in a home-and-away format, however the finals are now held in one pre-arranged location.

Both Russia and Belarus are currently banned from the competition due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

How do the Billie Jean King Cup Finals work?

The BJK Cup Finals nations are comprised of the two previous finalists, nine winners of the qualifying round that took place back in April and then a wildcard awarded by the ITF.

These 12 nations are split into four groups of three, where they will play each other in a round-robin format with the group winner advancing.

Each tie consists of three rubbers, with two singles matches and a potentially deciding rubber.

Group winners are decided by most match wins, but if there is a tie it can go down to most matches won or even most sets won!

The four group winners will advance to the semi-final stages, which are in a complete knockout format and will conclude with the final, where a world champion will be crowned.

When are the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals?

The BJK Cup Finals will commence on Tuesday 7th November with the round-robin stage, that will conclude on Friday 10th November.

This will be followed by the knockout stages, with the semi-finals and blockbuster final taking place on Saturday 11th November and Sunday 12th November.

For more information on the schedule for the BJK Cup Finals, click here.

Where are the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals?

The 2023 BJK Cup Finals were awarded to the Spanish city of Seville back in May, with the tennis taking place at the famous Estadio de la Cartuja.

It is a multi-purpose venue, with the finals being played out on two specially-laid hard courts covered by a series of tents.

Centre Court has a total capacity of 4,000 seats, with the slightly smaller Court One holding only 1,500 seats.

Who is playing at the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup?

The groups for the BJK Cup Finals were determined by the top four seeds, with defending champions Switzerland as No.1, 2022 runners-up Australia as No.2, hosts Spain as No.3 and France as No.4.

Switzerland’s situation is currently unclear, as No.1 player Belinda Bencic has just announced her pregnancy, but has travelled to Seville and still remains on the team list.

The standout team for many are 11-time champions Czech Republic, however they face a difficult predicament with three of their five players having to travel from the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico.

Both of these nations will play in a ‘group of death’ alongside the most successful team in BJK Cup history, the United States of America.

The wildcard was awarded to Poland, however this appears to have backfired after Iga Swiatek decided that it was not feasible for her to travel over 10 hours in such a small space of time.

Here is the full list of teams:

Group A

Switzerland
Player SR* DR**
Belinda Bencic 16 193
Viktorija Golubic 87 147
Céline Naef 121 433
Jil Teichmann 142 214
Simona Waltert 167 394
Captain: Heinz Günthardt

 

Czech Republic
Player SR DR
Markéta Vondroušová 8 46
Barbora Krejčíková 13 6
Marie Bouzková 34 23
Linda Nosková 42 194
Kateřina Siniaková 60 3
Captain: Petr Pála

 

United States
Player SR DR
Sofia Kenin 32 438
Peyton Stearns 48 97
Sloane Stephens 49 626
Danielle Collins 56 82
Taylor Townsend 66 6
Captain: Kathy Rinaldi

 

Group B 

Australia
Player SR DR
Kimberly Birrell 102 246
Storm Hunter 157 2
Daria Saville 202 166
Ajla Tomljanovic 427 –
Ellen Perez 458 24
Captain: Alicia Molik

 

 Kazakhstan
Player SR DR
Elena Rybakina 5 115
Yulia Putintseva 66 332
Zhibek Kulambayeva 518 157
Aruzhan Sagandikova 747 945
Anna Danilina 795 32
Captain: Yaroslava Shvedova

 

Slovenia
Player SR DR
Tamara Zidanšek 96 343
Kaja Juvan 101 –
Veronika Erjavec 199 138
Nina Potočnik 515 647
Ela Nala Milić 1043 –
Captain: Andrej Krasevec

 

Group C

Spain
Player SR DR
Sara Sorribes Tormo 55 36
Paula Badosa 64 345
Rebeka Masarova 67 126
Cristina Bucșa 81 66
Marina Bassols Ribera 110 448
Captain: Anabel Medina Garrigues

 

Canada
Player SR DR
Leylah Fernandez 43 19
Rebecca Marino 138 1035
Eugenie Bouchard 234 –
Marina Stakusic 297 457
Gabriela Dabrowski – 9
Captain: Heidi El Tabakh

 

Poland
Player SR DR
Magda Linette 23 44
Magdalena Fręch 69 594
Katarzyna Kawa 217 125
Weronika Falkowska 321 91
Captain: Dawid Celt

 

Group D

 France
Player SR DR
Caroline Garcia 10 85
Varvara Gracheva 45 897
Clara Burel 74 638
Alizé Cornet 117 307
Kristina Mladenovic 254 73
Captain: Julien Benneteau

 

Italy
Player SR DR
Jasmine Paolini 30 128
Elisabetta Cocciaretto 33 495
Martina Trevisan 38 382
Lucia Bronzetti 62 884
Lucrezia Stefanini 125 –
Captain: Tathiana Garbin

 

 Germany
Player SR DR
Tatjana Maria 57 301
Laura Siegemund 91 14
Anna-Lena Friedsam 111 109
Eva Lys 133 –
Jule Niemeier 173 428
Captain: Rainer Schüttler

*Singles Ranking

**Doubles Ranking

READ MORE: Olympic champion announces ‘miracle’ pregnancy

What is the prize money on offer at the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup?

Round Prize Money*
Champions $2,400,000
Runners-up  $1,440,000
Semi-finals $960,000
Group Stages  $480,000

*Split between players in team

Previous winners of the Billie Jean King Cup

The USA won the first ever BJK Cup back in 1963 at Queen’s Club in London, and have gone onto become world champions a record 18 times.

Last year saw a new winner crowned, as Switzerland beat Australia in Glasgow to avenge their 2021 final defeat.

Here are all of the last 10 winners:

Year Location Winner
2012 Prague, Czech Republic Czech Republic (7)
2013 Cagliari, Italy  Italy (4)
2014 Prague, Czech Republic Czech Republic (8)
2015 Prague, Czech Republic Czech Republic (9)
2016 Strasbourg, France Czech Republic (10)
2017 Minsk, Belarus USA (18)
2018 Prague, Czech Republic Czech Republic (11)
2019 Perth, Australia France (3)
2020-2021 Prague, Czech Republic Russian Tennis Federation (5)
2022 Glasgow, Scotland Switzerland (1)

How can you watch the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals?

With Great Britain not qualifying for the finals, the event is not being broadcasted on terrestrial TV in the United Kingdom. You can watch the Billie Jean King Cup Finals exclusively on Tennis Channel International.

However, if you don’t want to do that you can watch Great Britain’s qualifier tie against Sweden, that takes place between 11th-12th September, on either BBC iplayer or the BBC Sport website.

For more information on how to watch the BJK Cup in your location, click here.

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Matthew Johns, Tennishead Writer, is a professional tennis journalist with a specialist degree in Sports Journalism. He's a keen tennis player having represented his local club and University plus he's also a qualified tennis coach. Matthew has a deep knowledge of tennis especially the ATP Tour and thrives on breaking big tennis news stories for Tennishead.