Iga Swiatek played in the Billie Jean King Cup only sporadically in recent years, but that will change in 2024.
The Polish player made her Billie Jean King Cup debut back in 2018 when the competition was still called the Fed Cup. On February 9th, she played in a doubles match with compatriot Alicja Rosolska against Turkish duo Basak Eraydin and Ayla Aksu. The Polish team lost that match 3-6, 6-2, 1-6.
On the following day, Swiatek played in a singles match against Bulgaria's Petia Arshinkova and recorded her first-ever Billie Jean King Cup win. The following year, she lost to Russia's Natalia Vikhlyantseva, 0-6, 2-6, and also Dayana Yastremska, 6-7(2), 4-6, but that also marked her last Billie Jean King Cup loss.
Since then, Swiatek bested all of her opponents, with the most notable wins coming in 2022, when she destroyed two Romania's players. First, she didn't allow Andreea Prisacariu to win a single game, winning 6-0, 6-0, before beating also Prisacariu's compatriot Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-1, 6-0.
Those matches were played in the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers, but the Polish player didn't play in the Finals later that year because of the scheduling clash with the WTA Finals, which ended only hours prior to the start of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
In 2023, she didn't even play in the Qualifiers, and once again, Swiatek skipped the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. This year, the World No. 1 player helped her country to qualify for the Finals, winning two matches against Switzerland's Celine Naef and Simona Waltert, but in September, she announced that she wouldn't be taking part in the Finals again.
The 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals run from November 13th to 20th at the Martin Carpena Arena in Malaga, Spain. That is only four days after the conclusion of the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which run from November 2nd to 9th.
The reason for Swiatek's withdrawal was obvious, especially since Poland is scheduled to play against the host nation, Spain, already on the opening day of the tournament.
However, in a very rarely seen development, Swiatek announced that she changed her mind and that she would make her way to Malaga to represent her country at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
"See you in Malaga! I’m happy to announce that I will play in the BJKC Finals. I’m glad that I’ll play for my country and proudly represent Poland. Together with team Poland we will give our best on the court. I hope you’ll watch and support us. See you soon."
This decision came after Swiatek parted ways with her coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski. During the period when the split was likely taking place, the Polish player missed the Korea Open in Seoul, the China Open in Beijing, and also the Wuhan Open.
Likely, this lack of playing time motivated her to represent her country in Malaga and try to win the Billie Jean King Cup for Poland.
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