Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/1547080
Aligning with Davis Cup World Tennis works alongside our partners at Billie Jean King Cup Limited to deliver the competition, in a joint venture established in 2023. In 2026 a record 148 nations entered, as the gap between competing nations in our men's and women's World Cup of Tennis events closes (160 nations entered Davis Cup). In further alignment with Davis Cup and its Final 8 format, since 2025 the elite Billie Jean King Cup Finals has been an eight- nation knockout showdown. The elite tier of Billie Jean King Cup consists of seven home- or-away Qualifier ties in April, leading to the Finals for the nations that win. New for this year, the order of the five matches in each Qualifier tie was changed so that, as in Davis Cup, the doubles match is played first on day two, instead of last. This guarantees for the first time in the competition's history that the doubles match will always be live. On television, 45 broadcasters provided coverage of the 2026 Finals to more than 125 markets, and more than 3.7 million Chinese viewers watched via CCTV-5's digital platform. Via our digital platforms, full-year figures for 2025 showed a strong audience for Billie Jean King Cup, with 115 million exposures and 4.3 million engagements. There was a 47% year-on-year increase in followers across social media. A total of 30.8 million people watched the competition on television in 2025. As in Davis Cup, regional events were livestreamed for the first time alongside the higher levels of competition, and this has continued in 2026. Huge new audience In September 2026, the Billie Jean King Cup Finals returned to Shenzhen. Last year marked the first time the Finals had been held in China, taking the women's World Cup of Tennis to a vast and engaged new audience. November will see seven home- or-away ties held in the Play-offs – these determine which nations compete in the following year's Qualifiers. In the wider Billie Jean King Cup, below this level there is regional competition in four groups, with progression to the Play-offs available for nations in Group I. In total, 14 home-or-away ties and 11 regional events are taking place in 2026. Building momentum The competition has attracted large audiences across all channels over the past two years. For the second year of the Finals in China, attendance in Shenzhen was nearly 28,000, a 17% increase on 2025. BILLIE JEAN KING CUP IN 2026 *nominated to teams 76.7 million views and 2.4 million engagements across Billie Jean King digital channels for Finals For the second year of the Finals in China, attendance in Shenzhen was nearly 28,000, a 17% increase on 2025. 28,000 attendance for Finals c345 players* 148 nations entered 6 continents Major Events 15 l We Are World Tennis 2026