The Billie Jean King Cup Finals return to Shenzhen from 22 to 27 September, and the eight-nation field that assembles at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre includes an Olympic champion playing her first tie in more than two years and a Wimbledon champion on a four-woman Czech squad that also carries this year’s Wimbledon runner-up.
Updated 19 September 2026. The field no longer includes the world No. 1. Elena Rybakina withdrew from Kazakhstan’s squad on 18 September, six days after she won the US Open. The Kazakhstan Tennis Federation said she has been carrying an Achilles tendon injury since the Cincinnati Open, played her last matches in New York on painkillers, and needs at least two weeks of treatment and recovery.
The quarterfinal draw. Czechia play Great Britain in the opening tie. Holders Italy face hosts China in a repeat of a previous quarterfinal meeting. Ukraine play Belgium. Kazakhstan play Spain. Great Britain and Czechia open the Finals on Tuesday 22 September, and Kazakhstan play Spain on Wednesday 23 September. The winners of Italy v China and Ukraine v Belgium meet in one semifinal, the winners of Czechia v Great Britain and Kazakhstan v Spain in the other.
The format. The Finals are a straight knockout — quarterfinals, semifinals, final — with no group stage. There is no seeding path to protect the holders: Italy, who have won the last two editions, drew the host nation in the first round. The qualifying round in April moved to a best-of-five format with the doubles rubber promoted to third, aligning the competition with the Davis Cup. At last year’s Finals in the same arena, ties were settled over three rubbers in a single day, two singles followed by doubles where needed.
Kazakhstan v Spain. Without Rybakina, who beat Zheng Qinwen in the US Open quarterfinal to clinch the No. 1 ranking, Kazakhstan’s singles lead falls to Yulia Putintseva, with Anna Danilina the doubles specialist. Kazakhstan beat Canada 3-1 in Astana in April to qualify, with Putintseva sealing the tie against Bianca Andreescu in a match of three hours and 39 minutes. Spain’s squad is Cristina Bucsa, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Kaitlin Quevedo, Marina Bassols Ribera and Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Czechia v Great Britain. The Czech squad is the deepest in the field on paper: Linda Noskova, the reigning Wimbledon champion, Karolina Muchova, who was runner-up at the same tournament, and Katerina Siniakova, the Paris 2024 mixed doubles gold medallist. Britain’s squad includes Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart. Britain are here because they beat Australia away in Melbourne in April, which was among the larger upsets of the qualifying round.
Italy v China. Zheng Qinwen headlines the host nation and this is her first Billie Jean King Cup appearance since April 2024. She missed the 2025 Finals recovering from elbow surgery, fell out of the WTA top 100 in June, and reached the US Open quarterfinals from qualifying, a run that lifted her 69 places to No. 52 in Monday’s rankings. Italy counter with Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani, the Paris 2024 women’s doubles champions, and are chasing a third consecutive title.
Ukraine v Belgium. Ukraine field two of the stronger singles players in the draw in Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk, and have never won the competition. Belgium are here having beaten the United States away in the qualifying round, which removed the 2025 runners-up from the tournament before it began. Elise Mertens, part of that qualifying win, is not in the Finals squad; Belgium’s nominated team is Hanne Vandewinkel, Jeline Vandromme, Greet Minnen and Magali Kempen. Nations can make up to four changes to their squads until the day before the Finals.
How to watch. Coverage is carried by national broadcasters in each competing country. In selected territories the governing body streams ties on billiejeankingcup.com and through the World Cup of Tennis app, which is how the April qualifying round was distributed. World Tennis has now published the full broadcaster list for the Finals on billiejeankingcup.com. In Britain, Great Britain v Czechia is on BBC iPlayer on 22 September. All session times are Shenzhen local time, GMT+8.
The men’s equivalent, the same month. The Davis Cup Qualifiers second round is played from 18 to 20 September, the week before Shenzhen, with seven places in the Davis Cup Finals at stake. For how the two team competitions differ, see our guide to the major national team events.
