The draws for the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals and Play-offs were made this week at the ITF Headquarters in London, with the 8 nations who won qualifying ties played in mid-April joining already-qualified defending champions Canada, host nation Spain, 2023 runners-up Italy, and Czechia, who receive a wild-card.
Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and the USA are the 8 nations that sealed their spots in the qualifiers that finished on April 13th.
Of the 12 nations contesting the BJK Cup Finals, the top 4 seeded teams, Canada (No 1), Czechia (2), Italy (3), and Australia (4) will get a bye in the 1st-round and begin their campaigns at the quarter-final stage.
Under the recently announced new format, ties will be played in a knock-out format, with Seville, Spain, chosen as the host city for a second year in a row.
The Finals will be played over 9 days at La Cartuja Stadium in Seville, beginning on 12 November and ending on the 20th.
Canada will await the winner of the tie between Germany and Great Britain in the Last 8, with the Germans counting on the experience of Angelique Kerber, Tatjana Maria, and Laura Siegemund, with the latter coming up trumps in their fantastic win over Brazil in the qualifiers, while Great Britain, who notched an upset away win over France, thanks to the return of Emma Raducanu, will also hope to field Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart and Heather Watson.
The USA, who are the most successful country in the history of the BJK Cup competition, with 18 titles, have a new captain in Lindsay Davenport, and the team routed Belgium 4-0 in the qualifiers, to line up a 1st-round tie against Slovakia.
Should they win that, Team USA will face Australia in the quarter-final.
Coco Gauff was not selected in the qualifying win over the Belgians but will be determined to feature in the Finals, as will Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro, who stepped up in the absence of the World No 3 in April.
Iga Swiatek’s Poland has been drawn against home nation Spain, with a quarter-final date against 11-time winner Czechia looming beyond.
Lastly, Japan, which has never won this competition, will play Romania, with a possibility of Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep facing off in a battle of former Grand Slam champions.
The winner of Japan-Romania will face last year’s runners-up, Italy, in the quarter-final.
Iga Swiatek led Poland into the BJK Cup Finals after beating Switzerland in the Qualifiers in April
© Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images for ITF
The opening round of ties will take place from Tuesday 12 to Thursday 14 November, followed by the quarter-finals on Friday 15 to Sunday 17 November, while the semi-finals will take place on Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 November, with the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup final on Wednesday 20 November.
The schedule for the Finals will be confirmed in the coming days, with tickets set to go on sale next week.
The 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Play-offs draw also took place on Tuesday, with 8 ties scheduled to take place on a home-and-away basis on either Friday 15 and Saturday 16 November or Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 November, with the home nations having choice of which dates to play.
Winning nations in the Play-offs will advance to the Qualifiers in 2025, while losing nations will compete in regional Group I events in 2025.
Billie Jean King Cup
2024 Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals Draw
The 4 seeded nations receive a bye to the quarter-finals. The unseeded nations will contest 4 first round ties. Ties at the Finals consist of 3 matches: 2 singles matches followed by a doubles match.
First round (12-14 November)
- Germany v Great Britain
- Slovakia v USA
- Spain v Poland
- Japan v Romania
Quarter-finals (15-17 November)
- Canada (1) v Germany/Great Britain
- Australia (4) v Slovakia/USA
- Spain/Poland v Czechia (3)
- Japan/Romania v Italy (2)
All to play for – the Billie Jean King Cup, formerly known as the Federation Cup and Fed Cup trophy
© Micha Cizek/AFP via Getty Images
2024 Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Play-offs Draw
Each Play-off tie will consist of 5 matches: 2 singles matches on the first day, and 2 singles matches followed by a doubles matches on the second day. Home nations will have the choice of hosting on either Friday 15 and Saturday 16 November or Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 November.
- Switzerland (1) (c)* v Serbia
- Kazakhstan (2) (c)* v Korea, Rep.
- Colombia (c) v France (3)
- Slovenia (4) (c)* v Netherlands
- China, P.R. (c) v Belgium (5)
- Ukraine (6) (c)* v Austria
- Brazil (7) (c) v Argentina
- Denmark (c)* v Mexico (8)
(#) = seed; (c) = choice of ground; * = choice of ground decided by lot
Canada , 2023 Billie Jean King Cup champions: (L-R) Marina Stakusic, Leylah Fernandez, Rebecca Marino, Heidi El Tabakh, Gabriela Dabrowski and Eugenie Bouchard with the trophy after beating Italy in the final at Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville, Spain
© Matt McNulty/Getty Images for ITF
