Iga Swiatek leads list of players signed up for Billie Jean King Cup play-offs

Iga Swiatek is the most high-profile WTA player committed to competing next month at the 2025 Billie Jean King play-offs.

Poland's greatest ever player was absent from April's qualifying round. Local fans were undoubtedly hopeful that Swiatek would appear since the team's Group E matches against Ukraine and Switzerland were played on home soil and on clay.

Although Swiatek ultimately did not win a clay-court title this season, the four-time French Open champion has been the most dominant player on the dirt since 2020, which could have tempted her into featuring in April's qualifiers.

Instead, Poland missed out on September's Finals after being defeated 3-0 by Ukraine. Magda Linette, Katarzyna Kawa, Maja Chwalinska, and Martyna Kubka tried their best, but could not fill the void left by Swiatek.

Team captain Dawid Celt must be delighted that Swiatek is in the team for the play-offs, which will be held from November 14th to 16th. These play-offs will decide the teams for next year's qualifying round for the finals and who drops down a level.

Poland is at home again, but on an indoor hard court at the Arena Gorzow. Kawa, Kubka, and Linda Klimovicova will be Swiatek's teammates in Group B against Romania and New Zealand.

Last year's Wimbledon quarterfinalist Lulu Sun and Elena-Gabriela Ruse will represent New Zealand and Romania, respectively. With Swiatek in their ranks, Team Poland starts as the overwhelming favorites to top the group and reach the 2026 qualifiers.

Group A on an outdoor hard court in Monterrey, Mexico, promises to be fascinating. 19-year-old Victoria Mboko, whose run to the 2025 Canadian Open title was among the most surprising moments of the season, will represent Team Canada.

The teenager is set to face Team Denmark's Clara Tauson, who has had an excellent breakthrough season, in a singles match. Renata Zarazua leads Mexican hopes, but they are underdogs to win that group.

Fascinating matchups also await in Group D. Croatia hosts that group on an indoor hard court, and Olympic Silver Medalist Donna Vekic will appear in front of her home fans. She has endured a challenging year, leading to her tumbling down the rankings.

Linda Noskova and Tereza Valentova, two young players who have enjoyed career-best seasons, lead Team Czech Republic's hopes in that group. A Colombian team containing Camila Osorio is the underdog in that group.

19-year-old Maya Joint is another talented young player among those signed up. She will play in Hobart for Team Australia in Group E, which contains Brazil and Portugal. Brazilian hopes are severely damaged by Beatriz Haddad Maia's absence after she ended her season early.

Swiatek's coach, Wim Fissette, is Team Belgium's captain. The Belgians are in a group with Germany and Turkey. The matches will be played in Germany on an indoor hard court, and it could be among the closest groups.

Team Slovakia, which finished as the runner-up to Italy last year, will compete in Group C against hosts Argentina. The matches will be played on clay, making it the only group not on hard courts.

The Netherlands, Slovenia, and India are the teams in Group G. Fans will be able to follow much action in one of the final tournaments before the off-season begins in January.