ITF

14 Summer 2022 ITF World BILLIE JEAN KING CUP FINALS Discover more at www.billiejeankingcup.com C L I C K H E R E FO R M O R E Glasgow Below, top to bo om: World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will lead Poland Danielle Collins played a crucial role for USA last year Switzerland, featuring Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, were last year's runners-up With prestige, silverware and the moniker of World Champions up for grabs, levels of anticipation, expectation and excitement are only going to intensify as the countdown to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals continues. The 2022 women's World Cup of Tennis is reaching its climax as the world's best 12 teams prepare to go head-to-head with the intention of conquering all before them and standing atop the winners' podium. The stage is set, and the indoor hard courts of the Emirates Arena in Glasgow will play host to the second edition of the Finals, which were last year played out at the O2 Arena in Prague, from 8 to 13 November. It will be the fourth occasion, but the first for more than 30 years, that Great Britain has hosted the Finals of the largest annual international women's team competition in sport. Launched in 1963 as the Federation Cup, the first event was held at London's Queen Club where Billie Jean King herself was a member of the victorious United States team. The competition went on to be held in Eastbourne in 1977 and Nottingham in 1991. That success by the United States was the first of their 18 triumphs in the competition and under the stewardship of captain Kathy Rinaldi they will once again battle for honours on the global stage. In Glasgow, the United States have been drawn against No. 4 seeds Czech Republic and Poland in Group D, with the winners of the four round- robin groups progressing to the knock-out stages. It might be something of a sporting cliche but there is no denying that Group D could be the 'Group of Death'. After all, captain Petr Pala's Czech Republic have built something of a Billie Jean King Cup dynasty in recent years, having claimed six titles since 2011. Poland, meanwhile, could well be a match for anyone with world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in their ranks. Elsewhere, top seeds Switzerland, who finished runners-up in 2021, find themselves in Group A alongside Canada and Italy. Group B will see No. 2 seeds Australia, Slovakia and Belgium do battle, while hosts Great Britain have been drawn in Group C with No. 3 seeds Spain and Kazakhstan.

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