Following the release of team nominations last week for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in November, Iga Swiatek has added her name to Poland’s squad in a surprise schedule announcement, reversing her initial decision to skip the action in Malaga.
I’ve played so many tournaments this year, so it was definitely the toughest decision to not play this and obviously not play BJK. I really honestly enjoyed it so much, and I think it helped with my development as a player. Naomi Osaka
The World No 2 and 5-time Grand Slam champion led Poland in the qualification round back in April, winning both her rubbers to help her nation seal a place in the Finals.
Her name, though, was not included in the initial squad confirmed by Poland’s BJK Cup captain Dawid Celt last month, with the Poland team originally anchored by Magdalena Frech and Magda Linette.
On Tuesday morning, Swiatek said that she would head to Malaga to play in the Finals, with action beginning on 13 November.
“See you in Malaga! I’m happy to announce that I will play in the BJKC Finals,” she wrote on social meeting.
“I’m glad that I’ll play for my country and proudly represent Poland. Together with team Poland we will give our best on the court.
“I hope you’ll watch and support us. See you soon.”
Alongside Frech and Linette, the 23-year old joins Katarzyna Kawa and Maja Chwalinska in Poland’s team.
Team captain Celt is known to have a close relationship with Swiatek, and the two were working together temporarily before the Pole hired Wim Fissette as her new coach.
The World No 2 has not played since her US Open quarter-final defeat, choosing to skip the Asian swing following her split from previous long-term coach Tomasz Wiktorowski.
Her decision to play in Malaga means that she has two events left on her calendar for 2024, with her WTA Finals title defence taking place the week before the BJK Cup Finals.
In Malaga, Poland initially faces an intriguing Round of 16 tie against hosts Spain, where Swiatek could potentially face Paula Badosa in a battle of the nation’s respective No 1’s.
Should Swiatek and Poland win that tie, they would then face second seed’s Czech Republic in the Last 8.
She is also now set to be the highest-ranked player in action in the draw, with only two other Top 10 players, World No 4 Jessica Pegula, and No 6 Jasmine Paolini set to represent the US and Italy respectively.
Team GB qualified for the BJK Cup Finals with a surprise upset win over France at Le Portel
© Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images for ITF
Other notable names in action include Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova, and Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu.
Britain has never won the Billie Jean King Cup, but have finished as runners-up on 4 occasions, and the team will be hoping for a deep run this year.
Raducanu joins Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and doubles specialist Olivia Nicholls on Britain’s 5-woman team for the competition in Malaga, which takes place from 13-20 November.
Team GB qualified for the knockout stage courtesy of an unlikely win over France on an indoor clay court in Le Portel in April, when Raducanu, making just her second appearance for her country, levelled the tie by fighting back to beat Caroline Garcia on the opening day.
After Boulter had beaten Clara Burel in the first Saturday singles match, Raducanu won the tie for GB by beating Diane Parry in a 3rd-set tiebreak.
“Our team have created excellent memories over the last couple of years and will relish the opportunity in November,” Keothavong said.
Naomi Osaka has ended her season early to nurse a back injury and will not represent Japan at the BJK Cup Finals in Malaga
© Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka’s season appears to be over after announcing that she will not play at the BJK Cup Finals because of injury.
The 4-time Grand Slam singles champion said in Tokyo on Sunday that she had ruptured abdominal muscles.
“I thought I strained my back, but I did an MRI in Beijing and they said that I bulged a disc in my back and I also ruptured abdominal muscles,” Japan’s Kyodo News agency reported the 27-year-old as saying.
Osaka has been sidelined since she retired from her Last 16 match at the China Open against eventual champion Coco Gauff at the start of the month, and she pulled out of both the Japan Open in Osaka and this week’s Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
The Billie Jean King Cup Finals would have been the last event on Osaka’s 2024 schedule.
“I’ve played so many tournaments this year, so it was definitely the toughest decision to not play this and obviously not play BJK,” she said. “I really honestly enjoyed it so much, and I think it helped with my development as a player.”
Osaka helped Japan beat Kazakhstan in April to qualify for the finals in her first Billie Jean King Cup appearance since 2020.
The 12 teams competing to be crowned 2024 world champions at the Finals in Malaga have nominated squads that can be changed leading up to the start of the women’s world team competition.
