China lands maiden women tennis show in a row

Article posted by Coliseum, February 6^th, 2025

Image: Shenzhen Bay Sports Center, Charlie fong, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Billie Jean King Cup Finals will be held in Shenzhen, China, from 2025 to 2027, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said recently.

‘ESPN’ stated that it will be the first time China will host the women’s team competition. The event was last held in Asia in 1989 in Tokyo (Japan) when it was called the Fed Cup with 16 nations. A record 146 nations are set to compete in 2025.

The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women’s tennis launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was changed to the Fed Cup in 1995 and changed again in September 2020 in honor of the former World No. 1 Billie Jean King. The Billie Jean King Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.

Billie Jean King, also known as BJK, is an American former World No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam titles: Twelve in singles, 16 in women’s doubles and 11 in mixed doubles.

London (UK)-based the International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national tennis associations. As of 2016, there are 211 national and six regional associations that make up the ITF’s membership.

‘ESPN’ further stated that the ITF said the move supports the tournament’s goal of fostering cultural exchange, celebrating diversity and strengthening connections between the athletes and the fans worldwide.

Paris Games gold medalist and World No. 5 Zheng Qinwen (Chinese tennis player) said in a statement, “Having the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen is a dream comes true for me and the other Chinese tennis players. This event reflects the incredible progress of tennis in China and highlights how women’s sports continue to thrive here. I can’t wait to see how it inspires more young girls to pick up a tennis racket and dream big.”

The premier women’s international team competition took place in Málaga, Spain, in 2024 with World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini steering Italy to a fifth title. China as the host and Italy as the reigning champion will automatically qualify for the Finals.

Underscored Billie Jean King, 12-time Grand Slam champion, “Shenzhen embodies the spirit of growth and innovation that is at the core of the Billie Jean King Cup expanding the reach of tennis and championing the power of women’s sports.”

The qualifying ties will be played across six group events beginning April 7th and will consist of three teams per group. Each three-day event will be held in one location and played on a round-robin basis.

Last year’s finalists Slovakia will host the United States and Denmark in Group C while Canada, the top seeds in the qualifiers, is in Group A with Romania and host Japan. Second-seeded Czech Republic will host Spain and Brazil in Group B.

Kazakhstan and Colombia will travel to Australia for the Group D ties while Poland will host Switzerland and Ukraine in Group E. Group F will be hosted by Britain and includes Germany and Netherlands. The teams finishing at the top of each group will advance to the Finals while the teams finishing in second and third will compete in the playoffs in November.

Dates for the 2025 Finals have not been announced.

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