Pegula & Other Top Americans Join Gauff In Withdrawing From Billie Jean King Cup
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Team USA's hopes of reaching the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals have been severely damaged by several of its best players, including Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, withdrawing from this week's qualifiers.
Gauff was confirmed not to be on the U.S. team when the teams were announced a couple of weeks ago. The 2023 US Open champion also did not play in the qualifiers or the Finals of last year's tournament.
A challenging run of form since the 2025 Australian Open might have removed any temptation for Gauff to play. Taking some time off before starting her clay court swing at the 2025 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is probably wise.
2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys was another player not in the initial U.S. lineup announced. She might feel an extra week off is deserved after enjoying such an exceptional start to the season, including winning the Adelaide International.
American No. 4 Emma Navarro also did not make herself available from the start. Last year's US Open semifinalist infamously did a rap before the team's 2024 qualifying tie, but there is no chance of a repeat of that hilarity.
American fans probably still felt pretty secure about the team's chances of qualifying from a group containing Slovakia and Denmark because of the number of other great U.S. players outside Gauff, Keys, and Navarro.
However, the team is now much weaker on paper because of several more withdrawals. Jessica Pegula was the most high-profile player, deciding not to play in the team event after winning the 2025 Charleston Open title.
Because of that triumph in Charleston, Pegula became the world's No. 3 and U.S. No. 1, overtaking Gauff. Her superb start to 2025 has also included securing the ATX Open in Austin title and being the runner-up at the Indian Wells Open and Adelaide International.
The 2024 US Open runner-up's excellent hard-court form meant she would have been an invaluable team member traveling to Slovakia to compete on an indoor hard court inside the Peugeot Arena in Bratislava.
The disappointment does not end there for U.S. captain Lindsay Davenport. Danielle Collins, who represented her country at last year's Finals in what fans thought was her final appearance before retirement, also withdrew.
Collins reversed her decision to retire during the off-season and has endured mixed results since. The 2022 Australian Open runner-up lost to Pegula in the Charleston quarterfinals and also seems to be prioritizing preparing for the clay court swing.
McCartney Kessler was another player who withdrew from the Billie Jean King Cup. She burst onto the scene by winning last year's tournament in Cleveland, triumphed at the 2025 Hobart International, and finished as the runner-up to Pegula in Austin.
Those withdrawals mean the American team for the ties against Slovakia and Denmark is expected to be Alycia Parks, Bernarda Pera, Asia Muhammad, and Desirae Krawczyk, a radically different lineup than previously expected.
Team USA still has a good chance of progressing, but they cannot afford to take anything for granted against Slovakia, in particular, since they finished as last year's runners-up.
