By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, March 15, 2024
Experienced champions and rising stars will lead the U.S. Billie Jean King Cup quest.
World No. 5 Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Emma Navarro, Caroline Dolehide and Taylor Townsend will lead Team USA when it hosts Belgium next month, U.S. captain Lindsay Davenport announced today.
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The United States will host Belgium in the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier April 12-13 at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Florida.
The tie launches former Olympic gold medal champion and Hall of Famer Davenport's tenure as captain.
The four-time year-end world No. 1, Davenport was one of the most successful U.S. Billie Jean King Cup players in history, helping to lead the U.S. to titles in 1996, 1999, and 2000. Davenport played under fellow Hall of Famer and former U.S. captain Billie Jean King and was a major force in singles and doubles.
The Qualifier is a best-of-five match series played on an outdoor hard court that begins Friday, April 12, with two singles matches, starting at 6 p.m. Two reverse singles matches and a doubles match will follow on Saturday, April 13, starting at 2 p.m., with an amended Saturday schedule possible if one nation clinches victory in the third or fourth singles match.
Tennis Channel will feature TV coverage in the U.S.
A limited number of tickets will be available to the public for Friday’s and Saturday’s matches through the USTA’s Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier Round Sweepstakes, which will provide fans the opportunity to enter for up to two complimentary tickets.
Please visit USTANationalCampus.com to submit an entry and for the Official Rules.
The 2021 NCAA singles champion Navarro shocked second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 scoring her biggest career win and battling to her fourth quarterfinal of the season at the BNP Paribas Open this week.
The 30-year-old Pegula has played in three Billie Jean King Cup ties for the U.S., with a 3-1 singles record, and has helped the U.S. qualify for the Finals each of the last two years.
Orlando resident Keys, 29, is a BJK Cup veteran. The 20th-ranked Keys has played in eight Billie Jean King Cup ties for the U.S. since debuting in 2014 and has been coached by Davenport on tour, including when she reached the US Open women’s singles final in 2017.
Dolehide, 25, is ranked a career-high No. 51 in singles and No. 30 in doubles. She made her Billie Jean King Cup debut for the U.S. in the 2021 Finals, reached her first WTA singles final in 2023 and is coming off her best BNP Paribas Open performance.
The left-handed Townsend, 27, is ranked No. 77 in singles and No. 11 in doubles. Townsend owns a 3-1 record in doubles matches over four Billie Jean King Cup nominations and has competed in the Finals for the last two years.
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty