Italy Seeks to Revalidate the Title in the Billie Jean King Cup
The Italian tennis team, led by the outstanding Jasmine Paolini, world number eight and Olympic medalist, is preparing to defend its title at the 62nd edition of the Billie Jean King Cup. The tournament will take place in Shenzhen, China, from September 16 to 21 and will feature the participation of eight nations.
The Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre Arena, with its indoor hard court, will be the venue for this prestigious event, which previously hosted the WTA Finals in 2019. In addition to Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the United States, and China, as the host country, will compete.
The Italian team, captained by Tathiana Garbin and composed of Lucia Bronzetti, Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Sara Errani, will debut in the tournament against China on Tuesday at 17:00 local time.
Italy enters the tournament as the top seed after their victory in the 2024 edition, held in Malaga. On that occasion, the Italian team defeated Japan in the quarterfinals, Poland in the semifinals, and Slovakia in the final. Paolini was key in the final victory, defeating Rebecca Sramkova.
The second day of the tournament will feature the match between Spain and Ukraine on Wednesday 17th at 17:00 local time. The winner of this match will face the winner of the match between Italy and China in the semi-finals, on Friday, September 19th at 17:00.
On Thursday, September 18th, two qualifiers will be played: Kazakhstan against the United States at 10:00 local time, and Japan against the United Kingdom next. The winners of these matches will face each other in the other semi-final on Saturday 20th.
Each tie will consist of three matches: two singles followed by a doubles match. All matches will be played in the best-of-three sets with a tiebreak.
A Tournament with History
The Billie Jean King Cup is named after the legendary American tennis player Billie Jean King, winner of 12 Grand Slam titles and an influential figure in tennis for her activism for women’s rights and social change.
The tournament, previously held in November, is now held in September, coinciding with the start of the Asian tour, to facilitate travel and reduce player fatigue.
The United States leads the ranking with 18 titles, the most recent in 2017 and the first in 1963. It is followed by the Czech Republic with 11 titles (the last in 2018) and Australia with seven (1974).
Russia, Spain, and Italy have won the tournament five times, while France has three titles and Germany has two.
In this edition, five of the eight participating teams will seek their first Billie Jean King Cup title: Kazakhstan, United Kingdom, China, Japan, and Ukraine.
Match Schedule
- Tuesday, September 16, 5:00 PM (09:00 GMT): Italy vs. China
- Wednesday, September 17, 5:00 PM (09:00 GMT): Spain vs. Ukraine
- Thursday, September 18, 10:00 AM (02:00 GMT): Kazakhstan vs. United States
- Thursday, September 18, 5:00 PM (09:00 GMT): Japan vs. United Kingdom
- Friday, September 19, 5:00 PM (09:00 GMT): Quarter-final winner 1 vs. Quarter-final winner 2
- Saturday, September 20, 5:00 PM (09:00 GMT): Quarter-final winner 3 vs. Quarter-final winner 4
- Sunday, September 21, 5:00 PM (09:00 GMT): Final
Participating Teams
China: Xinyu Wang, Yue Yuan, Shuai Zhang, Xiyu Wang, Xinyu Jiang, Feng Liu (Captain).
Great Britain: Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal, Francesca Jones, Jodie Anna Burrage, Anne Keothavong (C).
Italy: Jasmine Paolini, Lucia Bronzetti, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Sara Errani, Tathiana Garbin (C).
Japan: Moyuka Uchijima, Ena Shibahara, Nao Hibino, Eri Hozumi, Shuko Aoyama, Ai Sugiyama (C).
Kazakhstan: Elena Rybakina, Yulia Putintseva, Zarina Diyas, Zhibek Kulambayeva, Anna Danilina, Yuriy Schukin (C).
Spain: Paula Badosa, Jessica Bouzas, Cristina Bucsa, Leyre Romero, Aliona Bolsova, Carla Suarez (C)
Ukraine: Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk, Yuliia Starodubtseva, Lyudmyla Kichenok, Nadiia Kichenok, Illya Marchenko (C).
United States: Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, Mccartney Kessler, Hailey Baptiste, Taylor Townsend, Lindsay Davenport (C).
