By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, November 7, 2023
Team USA launches its hunt for a record-extending 19th Billie Jean King Cup championship paying poignant tribute to departing captain Kathy Rinaldi.
Photo credit: Matt McNulty/Getty for ITF
Parting can be painful.
When it comes to Kathy Rinaldi's final farewell as U.S. Billie Jean King Cup captain, parting is panting.
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Determined to honor their beloved captain with a deep run at this week's Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Seville, Spain, Team USA arrives with a clear battle cry: When captain Rinaldi cries, we run.
Meeting the media in Spain ahead of their BJK Cup Finals opener against reigning champion Switzerland on Thursday, American players shared their unique coping mechanism for captain Rinaldi's final turn as captain before Hall of Famer Lindsay Davenport succeeds her as captain in 2024.
Whenever Rinaldi sheds tears during this highly emotional exit week, her players vow to run suicide drills in practice.
"We said that every time Kathy cries, we've got to run a suicide," Taylor Townsend said.
Based on their pre-Finals presser that saw their captain tear up, American players Sloane Stephens, Danielle Collins, Sofia Kenin, Peyton Stearns and Townsend will be doing a lot of dashing this week.
"We are going to be running all day at this rate. Come on, now," Stephens joked.
"We'll really miss you," 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, who played for Rinaldi in the 2018 Billie Jean King Cup Final said.
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Kathy Rinaldi led Team USA to its record-extending 18th Billie Jean King Cup title in 2017.
During her six-year tenure as captain, Rinaldi has led the United States to two finals and has a well-earned reputation as one of the classiest, most dedicated and committed voices in American tennis.
Fiercely devoted to her players, Rinaldi says her final appearance as captain is emotional, but she wants this week to be about the team and its quest to capture a 19th BJK Cup.
"Obviously I know in the back of my mind I know that, but it's not about me. It's never been about me," Rinaldi said. "It's about these players. That's what I'm going to miss the most is being with these players. Someone hit me.
"So, you know, it's going to be a special week. It already has been a special week. We are having a great time. We are working hard and having fun. We are going to be ready to go on Thursday."
Rinaldi believes Team USA, which is without U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff and WTA Finals runner-up Jessica Pegula, who both played the WTA Finals in Cancun, is in very good hands with Davenport, a former world No. 1 in singles and doubles, the 1996 Olympic gold-medal champion for the USA and a highly-respected coach.
Calling her captaincy "one of the greatest honors of my life," Rinaldi believes this American ascent will continue in the coming years.
"I'm just enjoying every second like I do every other tie," Rinaldi said. "So it's not the same in that aspect, because I know when the last day comes, that's it.
"I'm not captain anymore. But I know Lindsay will do a great job and step in. I'm happy for her. But this is a dream job to be with these ladies. That bench is special."
Players want to send Rinaldi off in style playing with pure passion for their captain, or, as Stephens put "go out there and kick anyone's ass."
"I think playing on a team is very different. When you get out there, the matchups, you never know who's going to play who," Stephens said. "You never know who is going to come out and play and show up.
"I think that's what makes the U.S. so good and so strong at every single tie is because we always have an A, B, C, D, E team that can always go out and kick anyone's ass.
"I think us being here, it being Kathy's last tie, we show up every single tie, but this tie we are playing more than ourselves, more than our country, we are playing for our captain. We want to make sure we get out there and do everything we can. I think this week you'll see a little bit more than normal."
American players credit Rinaldi for her role as a trusted mentor going back to their junior days. Collins paid tribute to Rinaldi as a captain and coach whose impact transcends their time between the lines.
Rinaldi not only helped guide several American standouts in their journeys from juniors to the pro circuit, she drove the team van and even cooked players' meals at times.
"A lot of us have known each other for so long. I have known Sloane since we were little in the Florida tournaments, and Taylor for a long time since teenage years, and gotten to know Peyton a lot better this year because she's quite a bit younger than me," Collins said. "Sonya and I got to be on the 2018 team together. So many incredible memories.
"I think part of what's been so special playing for Kathy too is the fact that she's been involved in every aspect of tennis, not just at the professional level, not just at the highest level, being here at Billie Jean King Cup and representing our country, but also in the junior days. We have all known Kathy since we were little. She was at those tournaments with us. She was coaching a lot of us. She was driving the van. Making us breakfast, lunch, warming us up, helping us in every way she could, being a mentor to a lot of us too as we grew older. I think that's what makes this week so special."
It's what make this Finals week so emotional for the departing captain. Parting can be painful, but Rinaldi is determined to make her final appearance as captain productive for her players.
"Look at this lineup, right? They're all Grand Slam champions and Grand Slam finalists and a rookie that's having a heck of a year," Rinaldi said. "I get a little angry when I hear people say "a B team." This is not a B team. It's an A team.
"Everybody is a competitor here. Again, it's not just about one player. It's not about the captain. It's about a team and putting together a winning team. We'll do our best, that's for darn sure."