The Billie Jean King Cup is an equivalent of the men's Davis Cup, and the competition was previously known also as the Federation Cup, which was changed to Fed Cup in 1995, before the name changed again in 2020 to honour the legend of the sport, Billie Jean King.
The competition was launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), which organizes the tournament, but the first idea to organize the women's team event came already in 191 by Mrs Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman.
Now, it's a very popular team competition, but in recent years, it had undergone changes, like the Davis Cup, which were not so popular among tennis fans. Previously, the ties were held in one of the two countries competing in a knockout format, providing a unique atmosphere for the fans.
However, that changed in 2020-21, when the competition changed to the format, in which 12 best countries compete in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, which are held at one venue, taking away the unique parameter.
In the first nine editions of the Billie Jean King Cup, Australia, and the United States split all nine trophies between them, but that soon changed with other countries becoming successful, as Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic) managed to win 11 titles, five as part of Czechoslovakia and six as the Czech Republic.
Martina Navratilova has a very unique history with the competition, as she managed to win it in 1975 with Czechoslovakia, and then three more times after her change of citizenship with the United States, in 1982, 1986, and 1989.
