Elite lineup announced for Billie Jean King Cup Finals featuring Jessica Pegula, Elena Rybakina and Emma Raducanu

The Billie Jean King Cup Finals are taking shape, with the lineup of eight teams vying for the title now announced. The action will unfold at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center from September 16-21, on indoor hardcourts. The qualifying round determined the final six teams, who will join host nation China and defending champions Italy in the tournament.

The roster of players for the tournament includes many of the WTA Tour's biggest stars, with Jessica Pegula, Zheng Qinwen, Elena Rybakina, Emma Raducanu, and Paula Badosa among those set to compete for the 2025 title.

The qualifying rounds were played during the second week of April this year, seeing several favored nations eliminated, including Iga Swiatek's Poland, 2023 champions Canada (featuring Leylah Fernandez and Bianca Andreescu), and Linda Noskova's Czech Republic.

Defending champions Italy, led by Jasmine Paolini, had already qualified and will be looking to repeat their title this year. They join host nation China, led by Zheng Qinwen, who secured their spot in the Finals with a wildcard as the home team for this edition of the BJK Cup Finals.

Only one of the six favorites managed to qualify: Great Britain, with Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter, successfully navigated the group stage. The rest of the qualified teams include Japan, Spain, United States, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine.

As in previous editions, the ties will be decided by head-to-head matches between the teams, consisting of two singles matches and a doubles match if necessary, all played as best-of-three sets. The team rosters are set, and we could see some exciting potential matchups from the very first round of the tournament.

Defending champions Italy are the first seeds and have been drawn against host nation China in the upper half of the draw. We'll have a more-than-interesting duel between two Top 10 players: Zheng Qinwen against Jasmine Paolini, both leaders of their respective teams.

The winners will potentially face off in the semifinals against the victor between Spain (4th seed) and Ukraine, both surprises from the group stage. Here, Paula Badosa and Elina Svitolina are the highest-ranked players, though the Ukrainian roster also notably includes Marta Kostyuk, who will open the day facing Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

The bottom half of the draw will see second seed Great Britain take on Japan. The most anticipated match will be between two former Grand Slam champions: Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu could face each other in a key match to advance, complemented by the presence of Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal on the British team.

The final match will feature the United States (3rd seed) against Kazakhstan. The North Americans will not have Coco Gauff, but they have little to worry about with three Top 10 players in their lineup, including Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, and Emma Navarro. It will be up to Elena Rybakina and Yulia Putintseva to seek a victory against what, on paper, is the most complete team in the entire main draw.

Captain: Yang Wei-Guang

Captain: Anne Keothavong

Captain: Tathiana Garbin

Captain: Ai Sugiyama

Captain: Yuriy Schukin

Captain: Anabel Medina Garrigues

Captain: Mikhail Filima

Captain: Lindsay Davenport