As the 2024 season nears its end, there is one last major WTA event remains — the Billie Jean King Cup. An action-packed week of team tennis will take place in Spain. It will be difficult to pick one winner, as numerous nations appear to be strong contenders.
The USA does not have any of their three top-10-ranked players on the roster. While American enthusiasts are not fortunate enough to witness Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Emma Navarro participate in Malaga, Danielle Collins has a great shot at displaying her leadership.
Alongside Collins, team captain Lindsay Davenport’s side includes Taylor Townsend, Caroline Dolehide, Ashlyn Krueger, and Peyton Stearns.
The lack of high-profile names from the squad has led to pundits and enthusiasts not displaying much faith in the USA’s title chances. But Davenport believes that her girls are set to prove the naysayers wrong.
Davenport acknowledges the absence of Gauff, Pegula, and Navarro
The absence of Gauff, Pegula, and Navarro is a huge blow. However, rookie coach Lindsay Davenport will not allow this to hamper the morale of her camp.
“We have three women in the top 10, they are not here, and I still feel like we can win it all. That’s how deep US tennis is,” she acknowledged.
Instead, she backs her experienced players – Collins and Townsend – to complete the task at hand.
“Danielle was the first one who told me yes in early August. She said ‘I never turn down the opportunity to represent my country’. Taylor is the same way. I think that starts the movement, where you have players where this means everything to them. That’s contagious and we’re looking to feed off their experience in this tie,” Davenport said.
The quest for a 19th BJK Cup (called Fed Cup before) will begin for the American contingent on 14th November as they face Slovakia at 12:40 PM EST. A win would result in a quarter-final clash against Australia on Sunday.
The USA hopes to break a six-year drought by reaching the final. But the presence of formidable contenders like Great Britain, Germany, and Canada in their half of the draw will make it extremely difficult for the team to snap this unwanted streak.
