Billie Jean King Cup
Once in the World Group or World Group II, four nations will be seeded in each. The decision as to which nations will be seeded is made by the BJK Cup Committee, according to the ITF BJK Cup Nations Ranking.
Billie Jean King Cup
Bencic followed with a command performance, taking 1 hour and 15 minutes to dispatch Tomljanovic in a showdown between the respective nations' top-ranked players. Bencic converted half of her 12 break points.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, February 7, via Ticketmaster.com, and are available for as low as $25 per day. Single- and two-day ticket packages are available. Visit usta.com/billiejeankingcup for more information.
KLOSS: Absolutely. Billie is all about breaking barriers, making things better and using all the technology. For her to have her name on the cup at a competition where the latest and the best technology is available to help the players and the team captains is, for Billie, one of the most exciting things. She believes we have to pass the baton to the next generation.
ITF President David Haggerty said his group is sorry Swiatek won't take part in the team competition "and recognises that the schedule for the two major year-end events presents a challenge for players competing in both events. We have been working with the WTA to try to coordinate suitable dates."
Each tie will be a best-of-three competition with two singles matches and one doubles match played on an indoor hard court inside Glasgow's Emirates Arena. The full field, schedule and ticketing information is available at billiejeankingcup.com.
Gauff, 18, is ranked No. 8 in singles and No. 5 in doubles and held the world No. 1 doubles ranking this summer. The Delray Beach, Fla., native reached the singles final at Roland Garros this year, the youngest American to reach a major singles final since Serena Williams in 1999, and was a Junior Billie Jean King Cup champion in 2018. This is her second Billie Jean King Cup nomination.
That backed up earlier wins in the singles by Heather Watson and Harriet Dart over much higher-ranked opponents. Hart was in tears after stunning 13th-ranked Paula Badosa in a 6-3, 6-4 victory, despite a ranking gap of 85 places.
In 1958, King won her age bracket in the Southern California championship. She first garnered international attention in 1961, when she and Karen Hantze Susman became the youngest pair to win the Wimbledon doubles title. King attended California State University, Los Angeles from 1961-1964 and competed in tennis tournaments while also working as a tennis instructor. In 1965, she married law student Larry King.
"It's extremely sweet," Swiss captain Heinz Guenthardt said. "Maybe it's even sweeter after last year. ... You obviously can't compare. We have been working for this a long time. Not just this week."
Heather Watson, who has been a stalwart for Britain in the competition, winning 30 of her 44 matches across singles and doubles, has decided to miss the tie to focus on improving her singles ranking, while Katie Boulter, who has only lost one of her 10 matches, has a foot injury. 041b061a72