Raducanu, Rybakina & Osaka Among Players On Teams For Billie Jean King Cup Finals

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Tuesday, 22 July 2025 at 10:00
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The 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals could be one of the best in the tournament's history after many top players committed to playing.
This year's Finals will be played in Shenzhen, China, from September 16th to 21st. Italy, China, Spain, Ukraine, the USA, Kazakhstan, Great Britain, and Japan will compete for the title. Italy is the defending champion.
Team USA could be very challenging to defeat. Although French Open champion Coco Gauff, who rarely plays at the Billie Jean King Cup, is not on the team once again, the country's three other top singles players plan to compete in Shenzhen.
WTA World No. 4 Jessica Pegula, 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys, and world No. 11 Emma Navarro's presences would leave captain Lindsay Davenport with a challenging decision about who to exclude from the two singles matches.
Two-time Grand Slam doubles champion Taylor Townsend and Hailey Baptiste are the other team members. Although Baptiste is a good player, one of Pegula, Keys, or Navarro partnering with Townsend for the doubles seems the most likely option.
Madison Keys partnered with Taylor Townsend when they reached the 2022 French Open semifinal. They lost to Pegula and Gauff, showing how much experience and quality Pegula has in doubles.
Navarro's impressive volleying means she could also be chosen. Last year's US Open semifinalist hopes to demonstrate those skills when she plays mixed doubles with Jannik Sinner during the fan week of the 2025 iteration of the Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows.
The USA will face Team Kazakhstan in the quarterfinal. Although all members of their team deserve respect, such as former French Open quarterfinalist Yulia Putintseva, Elena Rybakina will likely carry most of their hopes.
The 2022 Wimbledon has endured a challenging season, probably not helped by consistent rumors about Stefano Vukov's role in her life while he is suspended from the WTA Tour. She most recently lost to Clara Tauson at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
The winner of that tie will face the 2024 semifinalist Great Britain or Japan. Emma Raducanu, who did not lose a match during last year's iteration of the Billie Jean King Cup, is again on the British team.
Raducanu, Katie Boulter, or Sonay Kartal are the most likely candidates to face Naomi Osaka in the singles. The four-time Grand Slam champion had to withdraw from last year's Finals because of an injury.
With all due respect to the other members of the Japanese team, it is challenging to envision a scenario where they can win the title without Osaka playing near her best and inspiring the team to victory.
Defending champion Italy will play China. Jasmine Paolini and Qinwen Zheng are on the respective teams. Zheng's 4-0 record against the two-time Grand Slam runner-up would probably give her a lot of confidence.
However, Zheng will be out for a considerable period after having elbow surgery. Whether the Olympic Gold Medalist can get herself fit in time for September remains to be seen.
Spain vs Ukraine is the other tie. Paula Badosa will lead Spanish hopes, while Elina Svitolina, fiercely proud of playing for her country, is Ukraine's top singles player along with Marta Kostyuk.

Team Nominations for 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals:

TeamPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5
ChinaZheng QinwenWang XinyuYuan YueZhang ShuaiJiang Xinyu
Great BritainKatie BoulterEmma RaducanuSonay KartalJodie Burrage
ItalyJasmine PaoliniLucia BronzettiElisabetta CocciarettoSara Errani
JapanNaomi OsakaMoyuka UchijimaEna ShibaharaEri HozumiShuko Aoyama
KazakhstanElena RybakinaYulia PutintsevaZarina DiyasAnna DanilinaZhibek Kulambayeva
SpainPaula BadosaJessica Bouzas ManeiroCristina BucsaAliona Bolsova
UkraineElina SvitolinaMarta KostyukLyudmyla KichenokNadiia KichenokYuliia Starodubtseva
USAJessica PegulaMadison KeysEmma NavarroHailey BaptisteTaylor Townsend
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