The Billie Jean King Cup, known as the Federation Cup (1963-1995) and Fed Cup (1995-2020), was born in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The first edition of the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Finals will take place at the 02 Arena in Prague, from November 1-6, 2021, on an indoor hard court. Spain will compete in the team nations competition with Sara Sorribes, Nuria Párrizas and Carla Suárez, plus the alternates cited by Anabel Medina, Rebeka Masarova and Aliona Bolsava. With these wickers, Spain will try to overcome the group stage, against the United States and Slovakia, to achieve, directly, the pass to the semifinals (Check here all the teams and their respective players).
How many teams compete?
Twelve teams compete for the prestigious trophy in Prague. Four were automatically classified:
– France (2019 world champions)
– Australia (2019 runners-up)
– Canadá (wild card)
– Czech Republic (host)
The other eight nations were determined in the competition’s Qualifiers, February 7-8, 2020:
– USA (defeated Latvia 3-2 at Everett WA)
– Belarus (defeated the Netherlands 3-2 in The Hague)
– Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) (defeated Romania 3-2 in Cluj-Napoca)
– Germany (defeated Brazil 4-0 in Florianopolis)
– Spain (defeated Japan 3-1 in Cartagena) – Switzerland (defeated Canada 3-1 in Biel)
– Belgium (defeated Kazakhstan 3-1 in Kortrijk)
– Slovakia (defeated Great Britain 3-1 in Bratislava)
What is the format and schedule?
The teams are divided into four Groups of three and will play a round-robin during the first four days:
Group A: France, Russian Tennis Federation (RTF), Hungary
B Group: Australia, Belarus, Belgium
Group C: EE.UU., Spain, Slovakia
Group D: Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland
Spain will debut on Monday, November 1 against Slovakia starting at 5:00 p.m. on court one, and two days later they will face the United States, already on center court, within Group C of the competition. The matches in Spain can be seen on Teledeporte, and also on RTVE Play. Each tie will be played to the best of 3 matches: 2 singles and one doubles. The winner of each group will qualify for the semifinals in which they will face A against C and B against D. The four group winners will play semi-final and final. There will be two play sessions each day except for the final. Two tracks will be used on Thursday and Friday. The semifinals will be held on Friday 5th and the final on Saturday 6th November. The champion and runner-up win the direct ticket to the finals of the following year. Teams finishing 3-10 will compete in the Qualifiers the following year. The 11th and 12th remaining teams will compete in Group I regional events the following year.
Calendar
Tournament schedule and schedule
Tournament Media Guide
Monday 1 November
(10.30h)
France – Canada (Group A)
Belgium – Belarus (Group B)
(17.00 hours)
Czech Republic – Germany (Group D)
Spain – Slovakia (Group C)
Tuesday 2 November
(10.30 am)
Australia – Belgium (Group B)
Russia – Canada (Group A)
(17.00 hours)
United States – Slovakia (Group C)
Germany – Switzerland (Group D)
Wednesday 3 November
(10.30 am)
France – Russia (Group A)
(17.00 hours)
USA – Spain (Group C)
Thursday 4 November
(10.30 am)
Australia – Belarus (Group B)
(17.00 hours)
Czech Republic – Switzerland (Group D)
SEMIFINALS
Friday 5 November
(10.30 am)
Group A Champion – Group C Champion
(17.00 hours)
Group B Champion – Group D Champion
FINAL
Saturday 6 November (4:00 p.m.)
Center court Semifinal winner 1 – Semifinal winner 2.