The Billie Jean King Cup Finals has moved this year and takes place between September 16-21 in Shenzhen, China with defending champions Italy and USA leading the way in a line-up featuring some top names.
Jessica Pegula, Jasmine Paolini, Elena Rybakina, Paula Badosa and Elina Svitolina all represent their nations aiming for glory. The ties consist of best-of-three rubbers played on one day. This consists of two singles and where needed a doubles match. The finals feature eight teams competing in straight knockout.
It is the first time it will be played outside of the usual November slot alongside the Davis Cup Finals and likely is a move done to help those WTA stars play the event with often the Finals in Saudi Arabia making it impossible for the top names to commit.
As a result aside from Emma Raducanu, Zheng Qinwen and Naomi Osaka who have withdrawn we have a good contingent of top names and often those not playing have only done so to play tour tennis instead in Asia.
Draw Billie Jean King Cup Finals
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Italy (2) | Italy (2) | Italy (2) | ||
| China (0) | ||||
| 4 Spain (0) | ||||
| Ukraine (2) | ||||
| 3 Kazakhstan (1) | United States (2) | |||
| United States (2) | ||||
| Japan (0) | ||||
| 2 Great Britain (2) | ||||
| United States (0) | ||||
Schedule/Results Billie Jean King Cup Finals
| Rubber | Home player(s) | Away player(s) | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elisabetta Cocciaretto | Yuan Yue | 4–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 |
| 2 | Jasmine Paolini | Wang Xinyu | 4–6 | 7–6 | 6–4 |
| 3 (Doubles) | Sara Errani / Jasmine Paolini | Jiang Xinyu / Zhang Shuai | Not played | ||
| Italy defeat China 2–0 | |||||
| Rubber | Home player(s) | Away player(s) | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro | Marta Kostyuk | 6–7 | 2–6 | |
| 2 | Paula Badosa | Elina Svitolina | 7–5 | 2–6 | 5–7 |
| 3 (Doubles) | Aliona Bolsova / Cristina Bucșa | Lyudmyla Kichenok / Nadiia Kichenok | Not played | ||
| Ukraine defeat Spain 2–0 | |||||
| Rubber | Home player(s) | Away player(s) | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yulia Putintseva | Emma Navarro | 5–7 | 6–2 | 6–7(6–8) |
| 2 | Elena Rybakina | Jessica Pegula | 6–4 | 6–1 | |
| 3 (Doubles) | Yulia Putintseva / Elena Rybakina | Jessica Pegula / Taylor Townsend | 2–6 | 6–7(2–7) | |
| United States defeat Kazakhstan 2–1 | |||||
| Rubber | Home player(s) | Away player(s) | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ena Shibahara | Sonay Kartal | 3–6 | 6–7(4) | |
| 2 | Moyuka Uchijima | Katie Boulter | 2–6 | 1–6 | |
| 3 (Doubles) | Shuko Aoyama / Eri Hozumi | Jodie Burrage / Francesca Jones | Not played | ||
| Great Britain defeat Japan 2–0 | |||||
| Rubber | Home player(s) | Away player(s) | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elisabetta Cocciaretto | Marta Kostyuk | 2–6 | 3–6 | |
| 2 | Jasmine Paolini | Elina Svitolina | 3–6 | 6–4 | 6–4 |
| 3 (Doubles) | Jasmine Paolini / Sara Errani | Lyudmyla Kichenok / Marta Kostyuk | 6–2 | 6–3 | |
| Italy defeat Ukraine 2–1 — advance to final vs United States | |||||
| Rubber | Home player(s) | Away player(s) | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emma Navarro | Sonay Kartal | 3–6 | 6–4 | 6–3 |
| 2 | Jessica Pegula | Katie Boulter | 3–6 | 6–4 | 6–2 |
| 3 (Doubles) | Taylor Townsend / Ashlyn Krueger | Jodie Burrage / Francesca Jones | Not played | ||
| United States defeat Great Britain 2–0 — advance to final vs Italy | |||||
| Rubber | Team 1 player(s) | Team 2 player(s) | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elisabetta Cocciaretto | Emma Navarro | 6–4 | 6–4 | |
| 2 | Jasmine Paolini | Jessica Pegula | 6–4 | 6–2 | |
| 3 (Doubles) | Sara Errani / Jasmine Paolini | Hailey Baptiste / McCartney Kessler | Not played | ||
| Italy defeat United States 2–0 — Italy are the 2025 champions | |||||
Prize Money
The prize money has yet to be confirmed for the tournament with 2024 gleaming a $9.6m purse with the 2024 champions receiving a combined $2.4m. This will likely be increased with the tournament moving to Shenzhen for the first time.
As was the case with the WTA Finals when it initially was played in Shenzhen before COVID, it saw a heightened amount and the expectation will be for the same here. It will be updated here when it is known.
Predictions
Samuel Gill, Head Editor for TennisUpToDate.com sees a USA side lifting the first title in China.
A bit of a weird spot for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals this year. It is moved to accommodate seemingly most of the top names heading to Asia for the hard court swing in the coming weeks.
But the knock on is that it has become in many ways a bit anonymous compared to its stand out slot in November at the same time as the Davis Cup Finals. Italy are defending champions and truthfully it is hard to look past them due to the leading duo.
But despite being burned on many facets before, I can't look past USA right now. Having a strong side even with Madison Keys bowing out, Jessica Pegula alongside Emma Navarro as well as McCartney Kessler and top stars Hailey Baptiste and Taylor Townsend. It is a pretty solid line-up and also not exactly hammered like it has been in the past by the WTA Finals taking half the top names off them.
Ukraine with Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk could be a force in singles. While Elena Rybakina has shown in team competitions before that she has the real nouse to lead from the front. Great Britain and home hopes China I back to struggle.
GB have relied on Emma Raducanu to bring her top game to this event as she often has. She decided to play tour tennis instead and so they are not as strong. While China thought they had Zheng Qinwen back but in a funny move she entered then withdrew. So they are depleted despite being on home soil.
Favourites:
*** USA
** Italy, Ukraine, Kazakhstan
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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