The Billie Jean King Cup Finals is always an exciting way to finish the season, and the teams involved have the incentive of trying to get the biggest piece of a huge prize money purse.
Canada is the defending champions after the team produced stunning performances in the Finals to unexpectedly win the team event held in Seville in 2023.
Leylah Fernandez was particularly inspired throughout the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals. She won all five matches she played to lead her country to their first-ever Billie Jean King Cup title.
Bianca Andreescu and Leylah Fernandez are on Team Canada's team for their title defense. Eugenie Bouchard, the 2014 Wimbledon runner-up, played well in the doubles last year, but she could not be considered due to her focus on pickleball this year.
USA's chances have been harmed by Coco Gauff electing not to be on her country's team for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Danielle Collins' final appearance before retiring from professional tennis will be at November's event.
Team Japan's members are undoubtedly thrilled that Naomi Osaka will be in Malaga for this year's Finals. Although every team member deserves respect, their chances would be slim without Osaka's involvement.
The players' opportunity to win a title while representing their countries is already great motivation, but the financial rewards for going far in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals could give the women who will take to the court additional incentive.
This year's Billie Jean King Cup title winners will receive $2,400,000. Although that amount is distributed across the entire team, it still amounts to an impressive sum for each individual member of the winning team.
The runners-up are also set to be handsomely rewarded with a seven-figure sum of $1,400,000. Italy was last year's runners-up, and the two-time Grand Slam runner-up Jasmine Paolini was a member of the Italian team.
Slovenia and the Czech Republic were the losing semifinalists in 2023. Many felt the Czech Republic were the favorites at that stage due to their doubles team of Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Krejcikova, but they fell short.
The two defeated semifinalists at the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals will be rewarded with $960,000. That is still a nice amount per player for them to enjoy when the off-season begins after the Finals.
A change in this year's format means there is prize money for reaching the quarterfinals. Last year's format had a group stage that was followed immediately by a semifinal, with no quarterfinal existing in between.
There is no group stage this year, replaced by knockout best-of-three ties that consist of a first-round, quarterfinal, semifinal, and final. The losing quarterfinalists will receive $520,000 for their efforts.
Twelve nations participate in the Finals. Canada, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Australia will receive byes into the quarterfinals. The other eight teams must fight for their places in the first round.
Four teams will fail to make the quarterfinal, but they will still receive $450,000 to be distributed among all team members.
| Round | Prize Money |
|---|---|
| World Champions: | $2,400,000 |
| Runner-up: | $1,400,000 |
| Semi-finalists: | $960,000 |
| Quarter-finalists: | $520,000 |
| Round 1 | $450,000 |