Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup set for major changes in 2025
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) have announced major updates for the 2025 season, with the Davis Cup reverting to the old home-and-away format.
Currently the Davis Cup splits the Finals between the group stages and knockout stages, but that first section is set to be replaced next year.
In 2025, the Davis Cup will get underway as early as January with the first round of the Qualifiers, as 26 nations compete in 13 home-and-away ties.
The winners of these 13 ties and the 2024 champions will then progress to the second round of the Qualifiers, replacing the group stage section and taking place in the week after the US Open.
Once again, this will be in a home-and-away format, with the seven winners joining the host nation for the ‘Final 8’ in November for a knockout competition to crown the Davis Cup champions.
Final 8.#DavisCup pic.twitter.com/rvT4ZEoYkK
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) October 4, 2024
The Billie Jean King (BJK) Cup is also set to undergo some big changes, with the home-and-away format actually being removed in 2025.
April will be when the Qualifiers take place once again, but this time in a round-robin format with 21 teams being split into seven groups of three.
The winner of each of these seven groups will progress to the BJK Cup Finals, joining a host nation in November, switching from the current finals lineup that contains 12 teams.
Despite the home-and-away format being removed from the BJK Cup next year, it is set to return to the competition in 2026.
New year. New look #BJKCup 💜
Billie Jean King Cup has introduced a new finals format for 2025 🏆⬇️ pic.twitter.com/UjJHFNgItH
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) October 4, 2024
And ITF President David Haggerty has released a statement upon the announcement of these changes, revealing the ambition behind this update.
“Today’s news is another positive step forward for both the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge and Davis Cup, and I am excited for the future of both competitions,” said Haggerty. “The format amendments aim to build on the success we have seen across both events in recent years and contributes towards our long-term ambition to bring them more in sync under the World Cup of Tennis banner.”
He continued, “In Billie Jean King Cup, the move to an eight-team Finals aligns with the Davis Cup Final 8 format which has proven to be such a success. Moving the Davis Cup September stage from six-day group stage events to two-day home-or-away ties will ease players’ schedules immediately following the US Open, while maintaining the intensity of the competition that they all love.
“The move also allows us to showcase world-class tennis in more nations around the world and increase awareness and participation. With these exciting developments for 2025 now confirmed, our focus is on delivering a spectacular fortnight of tennis at the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals and Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga in November.”
Inside the baseline…
There has been a lot of calls for these changes to be made, particularly for the Davis Cup to bring back home-and-away ties. The BJK Cup is set to go about these changes in a more roundabout way and it will be interesting to see how this comes to play. ITF President David Haggerty has spoken about how the Davis Cup changes are set to help ATP players prepare for the tight turnaround from the US Open, so hopefully that will be the case.
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