BJK Cup Finals revamped with knockout format

On April 26, 2024, 3:26 AM

The Billie Jean King Cup Finals will switch to a knockout format this year, with the final taking place in Seville on 20 November.

An extended nine-day event will overlap briefly with the men’s Davis Cup Final 8, which begins in Malaga on the eve of the Billie Jean King Cup final.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) says the aim of revamping the women’s event is to “maximise the visibility” and to create a “fortnight of World Cup tennis” in Andalucia.

Great Britain qualified for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals by beating France in Le Portel in April. Canada are the defending champions and Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka could compete for Poland, the USA and Japan respectively.

The eight-team line-up for the Davis Cup showpiece will not be confirmed until September. Great Britain will face opposition from Canada, Argentina and Finland when they try to qualify in Manchester.

The Billie Jean King Cup Finals were previously played over six days, with the 12 teams split into four groups and the winners contesting the semi-finals.

With this year’s changes, four teams will receive a bye to the last eight while the other eight nations compete for a place in the quarter-finals.

The Seville event will begin on Tuesday, 12 November, three days after the conclusion of the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

This will give players time to travel and acclimatise to the conditions in southern Spain. World number one Swiatek opted out of the 2022 and 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals as the schedule allowed her no time to prepare following WTA Finals staged in Texas and Mexico.

The first six days of the women’s team event will clash with the men’s ATP Finals in Turin, but the ITF will hope its midweek semi-finals and final are watched by a large audience.

The draw for the new-look Billie Jean King Cup Finals will take place on 30 April.