BJK Cup semi-finalists out of 2023 Finals
BILLIE Jean King Cup reigning semi-finalists Great Britain were eliminated from the 2023 title race after bowing out to France in the Qualifiers over the weekend. Twelve months ago, then top-ranked France suffered a shock loss to Italy in the Qualifiers to miss out on competing at the Finals, but after defeating Netherlands in the […]
Swiss salute to face Czech mates in semis
SWITZERLAND has overcome a red-hot Canada to reach the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King (BJK) Cup in a bid to go one better than last year. The nation fell to Russia in the 2021 decider, and due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the top seeds were banned from all tennis team competitions in 2022. […]
Fernandez stars in crushing Canadian win
CANADA has set up a virtual elimination final with top seeds Switzerland after sweeping Italy 3-0 in convincing style. The North American nation handed the Italians their second successive 3-0 sweep after Italy copped a similar beating from the Swiss the day before. On this occasion, it included a double-bagel 44-minute obliteration from US Open […]
Billie Jean King wrap: Day 2 – Barty-less Australia Storm Belgium as Russia oust Canada
NO Ash Barty or Ajla Tomljanovic? No worries for Australia, as the green and gold stunned Belgium to move one win away from an unlikely semi-final spot and automatic qualification to next year’s Billie Jean King Finals. The Aussies came in with former Top 30 player Daria Gavrilova – now ranked 412th in the world […]
Billie Jean King Cup day one wrap: Day 1 – Canada stuns France as Belgium wins opening tie
CANADA has stunned reigning champions France on the opening day of the Billie Jean King Cup despite being heavily understrength for the clash. The North American nation was without Bianca Andreescu or Leylah Fernandez, but just found a way to topple the world number ones who chose not to use second ranked player Caroline Garcia. […]
2021 Billie Jean King Cup preview: Group A
AFTER completing our team-by-team previews ahead of the Billie Jean King Cup, Draft Central now focuses the attention on the Group-by-Group previews. Over the next four days we will run through the four groups and who is anticipated to progress, the stars, and the ones to watch in each of the groups. GROUP A TEAMS […]
2021 Billie Jean King Cup nation preview: Canada
THE WTA Tour’s most prestigious team event is less than a month away, and Draft Central is counting down the days until it kicks off by previewing each team individually. Starting with the lowest ranked nation through to the highest one, we take a look at each squad, their fixtures, and what they might be […]
2021 Billie Jean King Cup nominations confirmed
WITH action just a few weeks away, the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup nominations have come in for the 12 teams battling it out for glory. Several big names will miss the event, led by world number one Ash Barty and world number two Aryna Sabalenka, but nations like Switzerland and Spain will be at […]
WTA 500 wraps: Czechs fall as other top seeds advance
A HUGE day at Melbourne Park saw all three events – Yarra Valley Classic, Gippsland Trophy and Grampians Trophy – underway, in what was a largely predictable day, though did feature a number of upsets, particularly to top ranked Czechs. In the Yarra Valley Classic, the two top Czech players in the world – Karolina […]
Fed Cup qualifiers wrap: Eight nations book spot in Finals
SIX of the eight seeded nations have booked a spot in the Fed Cup finals following the round’s qualifying action over the weekend. Plenty of top 20 WTA Tour players were running around the courts across the world in a number of tight contests. Fourth seed Germany was the only side to sweep the opponent […]
