Billie Jean King Cup 2024 finals preview and how to watch live
Will any of Iga Swiatek, Jasmine Paolini or Paula Badosa be able to lead their nation to glory in Málaga? Find out everything you need to know.
Tennis
The women’s tennis season reaches its grand finale at the Billie Jean King Cup 2024 finals (13-20 November) in Málaga.
After an enthralling conclusion to the singles campaign with the WTA Finals, players will join up with their nations in the competition’s knockout stage.
Canada are the defending champions after they beat Italy in the 2023 final, and this year there is plenty of talent battling it out among the eight teams.
Among the players set to take the court in southern Spain are French Open champion Iga Swiatek of Poland, Italy’s Olympic gold medallist Jasmine Paolini and Leylah Fernandez, who won the decisive match to seal the title last year for Canada.
Here is everything you need to know about the World Cup of tennis.
Billie Jean King Cup 2024 finals – format and schedule
Twelve nations are heading to Málaga in the final stage of this year’s competition, which consisted of qualifiers and play-offs to decide the lineup.
Of those teams, the four seeds earned byes directly into the quarter-finals: 2023 finalists Canada and Italy, wildcard Czechia and Australia.
The other eight teams will face off in an opening round to be part of the final eight, competing in ties which consist of two singles matches and a doubles decider if necessary.
Round one begins on Wednesday (13 November) before the quarter-final ties kick off on Saturday (16 November), with the final to be played on Wednesday, 20 November.
The provisional schedule is available here, to be updated accordingly, along with the full team selections.
(L-R) Marina Bassols, Jessica Bouzas, Paula Badosa, Captain Ana-Isabel Medina, Sara Sorribes and Nuria Parrizas-Diaz of Spain ahead of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Billie Jean King Cup 2024 finals – key teams and players
Defending champions Canada return with four of the five players who guided them to a maiden BJK Cup title, Bianca Andreescu being the only new addition. They can also count on Gabriela Dabrowski, fresh off winning the WTA Finals doubles title in Riyadh.
Hosts Spain are spearheaded by world number 12 Paula Badosa as they welcome the tennis world to Andalusia; they face a tough test against Swiatek’s Poland in the opening round.
The United States cannot be underestimated and bring a stacked team including the likes of Danielle Collins, Taylor Townsend and Ashlyn Krueger.
Other big names at the finals are Italian world number four Paolini, former US Open champion Emma Raducanu with Great Britain and doubles world number one Katerina Siniakova of Czechia.
Billie Jean King Cup 2024 finals – how to watch live
Tennis Channel will show the BJK Cup 2024 finals globally, though territorial restrictions may apply.