As the qualifiers for the Billie Jean King Cup 2024 take place on April 12-13, Team USA is aiming to bring home another title. Team USA has been the most successful in the world, winning the title a record 18 times. This time they will be captained by Lindsay Davenport, a 3-time winner of the tournament as a player (1996, 1999, 2000).
Team USA will have Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, Taylor Townsend, Madison Keys, and Caroline Dolehide this year. Navarro and Dolehide will be making their debuts. Coco Gauff will be missing out on this tournament this year after she requested not to be considered. Davenport will be the captain for the first time, as she takes over the reins from Kathy Rinaldi.
The USA is the 4th-seeded team in the qualifying round of the Billie Jean King Cup. Their first match is against Belgium. Jessica Pegula plays Sofia Costoulas in the first match. Emma Navarro plays Hanne Vandewinkel in the second match. Followed by which, Pegula plays Vandewinkel and Navarro will have to play Costoulas as well to complete the singles round of matches. For the doubles, Taylor Townsend and Madison Keys are set to team up against Marie Benoit and Kimberley Zimmerman.
The match will take place in the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida. It will be a match on the outdoor hard courts and will air on Friday i.e. 12th April at 6 pm Eastern Time. It will continue on Saturday i.e. 13th April from 2 pm Eastern Time. All the matches will stream live on the Tennis Channel in the US. The finals of the Billie Jean King Cup will take place from 12-17 November 2024 in Sevilla, Spain.
Despite having won the tournament 18 times, the Americans been at their best in the last 2 years. They didn’t make it past the group stage in 2022, losing to Czech Republic 1-2. In 2023, the USA won against Switzerland 3-0, but once again lost to the Czech Republic 1-2, again failing at the group stage. Switzerland and Canada were the winners in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Will Team USA win their 19th Billie Jean King Cup this year?
With Lindsay Davenport becoming the captain for the first time, Team USA will look for a fresh beginning this year. Since she has won the tournament thrice before, she will know the task at hand better than many. Given USA’s missing talent from the tournament, like Coco Gauff, it may seem like they are weak.
But Gauff’s replacement, Emma Navarro has proved that she can be a strong powerhouse. She won the Hobart International at the start of 2024 and also defeated the Australian Open 2024 champion Aryna Sabalenka at the Indian Wells Open.
With Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys already there, Team USA has a good mix of experience with youth. Taylor Townsend and Caroline Dolehide could prove to be surprise packages as well.
