Who will take the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup?

New for this year is the Finals will be not only eight teams but this week in Shenzhen, China. The eight teams competing are China (qualified for being the host nation), Italy (qualified as defending champions) and Great Britain, Japan, Kazakhstan, Spain, Ukraine and the United States (qualified via winning round robin ties in April).

The draw:
Italy vs. China
Spain vs. Ukraine
Kazakhstan vs. USA
Japan vs. Great Britain

Throughout the week, the teams will play against one another with two singles matches. If the match is tied at 1-1, a doubles match will be decided who advances.

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Quarterfinal 1: Italy vs. China
Italy: Jasmine Paolini, Lucia Bronzetti, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Sara Errani (Captain: Tathiana Garbin)
China: Wang Xinyu, Yuan Yue, Zhang Shuai, Jiang Xinyu, Wang Xiyu (Captain: Liu Feng)

Italy is one of the most decorated countries in Billie Jean King Cup history and broke an 11-year winless streak last year. Not only do they have Top 10 player Jasmine Paolini, but one of the top doubles teams in Paolini and Sara Errani. That alone could push a country to glory. They have a tricky opener with hosts China, but the Italians will greatly benefit from the absence of Zheng Qinwen, who is scheduled to return to the tour from injury and surgery at Wuhan. Had they had the Olympic gold medalist, I could’ve given the Chinese a chance but they don’t have the singles firepower to overcome the Italians. They must win at the No. 2 singles line to utilize Zhang Shuai but again, Paolini can carry the team on her back with her singles and doubles.
Prediction: Italy 2-0

Quarterfinal 2: Spain vs. Ukraine
Spain: Paula Badosa, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Cristina Bucsa, Leyre Romero Gormaz, Aliona Bolsova (Captain: Carla Suarez Navarro)
Ukraine: Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk, Yuliia Starodubtseva, Lyudmyla Kichenok, Nadiia Kichenok (Captain: Ilya Marchenko)

Spain was a country that dominated the tournament in the 1990s but haven’t been able to recreate that same magic. However, this week will mark the return of former World No. 2 Paula Badosa. She will need to be on her A game because Ukraine is my darkhorse here. They have qualified for the Finals for the first time and they’ve been able to field a team with pretty much their best squad available. Elina Svitolina (No. 13) and Marta Kostyuk (No. 26) are a fantastic 1-2 for a country and the Kichenok sisters both have great doubles prowess together and as a team. That being said, both Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Cristina Bucsa have had career-best summers and are playing their best tennis and can pull off an upset. However, I don’t see that happening here. Representing your country in a team event is a special intangible and Ukraine is a team that really embodies that spirit. Don’t be surprised if they become the Cinderella story of the week.
Prediction: Ukraine 2-0

Quarterfinal 3: Kazakhstan vs. United States
Kazakhstan: Elena Rybakina, Yulia Putintseva, Zarina Diyas, Anna Danilina, Zhibek Kulambayeva (Captain: Yuriy Schukin)
USA: Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, Hailey Baptiste, Taylor Townsend, McCartney Kessler (Captain: Lindsay Davenport)

This is the juiciest tie to me because we’ll have a fun Elena Rybakina-Jessica Pegula match which is the only guaranteed Top 10 matchup of the week. Perhaps like Badosa for Spain, Kazakhstan needs Rybakina to secure a victory if they want to have a chance at scalping the upset. The Americans are the winningest team in BJK Cup history with 18 titles and haven’t won since 2017. Yulia Putintseva is quite capable of shocking Emma Navarro, who hasn’t been in the best form recently, but Taylor Townsend is the world’s best doubles player and can win with anyone. Quite frankly, the United States are the team to beat even on their worst day – though we did see that happen last year so don’t 100% take my thoughts.
Prediction: United States 2-0

Quarterfinal 4: Great Britain vs. Japan
Great Britain: Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal, Francesca Jones, Jodie Burrage (Captain: Anne Keothavong)
Japan: Moyuka Uchijima, Ena Shibahara, Eri Hozumi, Shuko Aoyama (Captain: Ai Sugiyama)

If there’s a tie that will likely come down to doubles, it’s this one. Katie Boulter will likely be able to guide Great Britain to a victory here, but it will definitely take the scenic route. Sonay Kartal vs. Ena Shibahara will definitely be the tiebreaker here. Sure, Kartal might be ranked higher but Shibahara has a lot of team experience not only in BJK Cup but from her time as a UCLA Bruin. She’s used to the biggest of stages playing for Japan and as a top doubles player – on top of her recent singles success. Should Japan take a singles point, Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama will be called up and will take the deciding point. They have so much history together, I can’t see Boulter and a teammate being able to overcome the pair. I do see the Brits being able to sneak out both singles rubbers, though.
Prediction: Great Britain 2-0

From there, I would love to see Ukraine take out Italy to make the final, but those first two singles matches are critical. Elina Svitolina will have to upset Jasmine Paolini and then they’ll have to take out doubles. I’ll put Italy through to face the United States, who should have an easier time against Great Britain or Japan than they will against Kazakhstan.

However, the Americans have a solid team and are the most stacked lineup (I didn’t even mention they have Top 50 players McCartney Kessler and Hailey Baptiste on the bench, too). It’s the Red, White and Blue’s to lose and I see Captain Lindsay Davenport guiding them to the title.

Stay tuned from Shenzen. Now, on to links!

This Week in Women’s Tennis

Iva Jovic became the latest teenager to win a WTA title by grabbing the WTA 500 Guadalajara Open Akron with a victory over Emiliana Arango. Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Irina Khromacheva took the doubles title over Giuliana Olmos and Aldila Sutjiadi.

At the Sao Paulo Open, Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah announced herself by also winning her debut WTA title. She defeated Janice Tjen to take home the biggest crown of her career. Luisa Stefani ended the week high for the home crowd by taking the doubles title with Timea Babos against compatriots Ingrid Martins and Laura Pigossi.

Veronika Erjavec, Kaja Juvan and Oksana Selekhmeteva were the winners of the three WTA 125 events that were held in Spain and China.

Teenagers are taking over the WTA this year, winning every final they’ve played in 2025.

Two British juniors might’ve had Grand Slam success, but it’s nothing compared to the professional glory they’re trying to obtain.

The WTA Foundation held a clinic in Harlem during the U.S. Open to help inspire the next generation of players get involved with the sport.

Serena and Venus are officially unrolling their podcast, Stockton Street, tomorrow on X.

Curious how Division I coaches feel about players overlapping professional tournaments during the school year? The answer might surprise you.

The U.S. Open is blowing up and bigger than ever, but is it becoming too much?

Todd Wojtkowski, coach of Case Western Reserve University, talks the impact that Tennis in the Land has on the Cleveland community.

Tweet of the Week

Who wants to feel ancient?! The kids are coming….

Five at The IX: BJK Cup Finals

“Every time it’s [an] honour, of course, to represent Italy in this competition. But everything, it’s the same. We are practising together. We are enjoying the time together. So it’s fun. Maybe it’s a bit different from a single tournament, but I really like it.” – Jasmine Paolini

“It’s [the] first time for all of us here. I think it’s an incredible honor to represent my country, first of all, to be here in the Finals for the first time, beside these amazing girls. We’ve been in the same team for a very, very long time.” – Marta Kostyuk

“I enjoy being a part of the team, equally being able to celebrate and cheer on my teammates. It’s really fun. I really enjoy when it comes down to the wire. Less stress is better, but when it comes down to the wire, we kind of all have to come together and be able to produce our best tennis on the doubles court, it’s fun.” – Taylor Townsend

“Having these people by your side, your people by your side, it’s always helpful. It motivates me. Of course, starting the Asian Swing here, I think it’s going to help me for the rest of the season.” – Paula Badosa

“Last year, I feel like the biggest thing we learned [is] that we can trust each other, we have each other’s back. In whatever situation that we’re in, we’re just going to believe in each other and do the best that we can.” – Ena Shibahara