2020–21 Billie Jean King Cup finals

The finals, formerly known as World Group, is the highest level of Billie Jean King Cup competition in 2020–21. It was originally scheduled to be played on indoor clay courts at the László Papp Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary, from 14 until 19 April 2020, but was postponed due to COVID-19.^[1][2][3] The new venue was established to be the O2 Arena, in Prague,^[4] on indoor hard (Rebound Ace) court.^[5] The ties were contested in a best-of-three rubbers format and are played on one day. There were two singles matches, followed by a single doubles tie.

2021 Billie Jean King Cup finals
Date	November 1–6, 2021
Edition	58th
Surface	Hard (Indoor)
Location	Prague, Czech Republic
Venue	O2 Arena
Champions
Russian Tennis Federation

Main article: 2020–21 Billie Jean King Cup

France were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the round-robin stage, losing both their ties.

The Russian Tennis Federation won the title, defeating Switzerland in the final, 2–0.^[6]

Participating teams

12 nations took part in the finals. The qualification was as follows:

• 2 finalists of the previous edition
• 1 host nation
• 1 wild card^[7]
• 8 winners of a qualifier round, in February 2020

Participating teams
Australia	Belarus	Belgium	Canada (WC)	Czech Republic (H)	France (TH)
Germany	RTF	Slovakia	Spain	Switzerland	United States

1. ^
   In accordance with the ban by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and a December 2020 decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the team from RTF was not permitted to use the Russian name, flag, or anthem; it participated in the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup finals as the team of the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF), and used the flag of the RTF.

Team nominations

SR = Singles ranking, DR = Doubles ranking. Rankings are as of 1 November 2021.^[8]

Australia Player SR DR Ajla Tomljanović 43 140 Storm Sanders 131 33 Ellen Perez 200 43 Olivia Gadecki 232 180 Daria Gavrilova 412 559 Captain: Alicia Molik

Belarus Player SR DR Aliaksandra Sasnovich 88 79 Yuliya Hatouka 192 495 Iryna Shymanovich 263 311 Vera Lapko 356 238 Lidziya Marozava – 90 Captain: Tatiana Poutchek

Belgium Player SR DR Elise Mertens 18 1 Greet Minnen 70 81 Ysaline Bonaventure 146 395 Kirsten Flipkens 160 148 Captain: Johan Van Herck

Canada Player SR DR Rebecca Marino 148 175 Carol Zhao 328 570 Françoise Abanda 353 – Gabriela Dabrowski 710 5 Captain: Sylvain Bruneau

Czech Republic Player SR DR Barbora Krejčíková 3 3 Markéta Vondroušová 35 66 Tereza Martincová 48 188 Kateřina Siniaková 49 2 Lucie Hradecká 557 29 Captain: Petr Pála

France Player SR DR Alizé Cornet 59 281 Caroline Garcia 75 170 Clara Burel 77 268 Fiona Ferro 105 410 Captain: Julien Benneteau

Germany Player SR DR Angelique Kerber 9 379 Andrea Petkovic 76 135 Jule Niemeier 134 – Anna-Lena Friedsam 137 93 Nastasja Schunk 297 1319 Captain: Rainer Schüttler

RTF Player SR DR Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 12 108 Daria Kasatkina 28 284 Veronika Kudermetova 31 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova 32 146 Liudmila Samsonova 40 1342 Captain: Igor Andreev

Slovakia Player SR DR Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 83 621 Kristína Kučová 111 – Rebecca Šramková 172 491 Viktória Kužmová 175 59 Tereza Mihalíková 618 111 Captain: Matej Lipták

Spain Player SR DR Sara Sorribes Tormo 37 69 Nuria Párrizas Díaz 66 359 Aliona Bolsova 163 86 Rebeka Masarova 167 270 Carla Suárez Navarro 330 1103 Captain: Anabel Medina Garrigues

Switzerland Player SR DR Belinda Bencic 17 155 Jil Teichmann 39 106 Viktorija Golubic 45 145 Stefanie Vögele 116 964 Captain: Heinz Günthardt

United States Player SR DR Danielle Collins 30 492 Shelby Rogers 42 74 Sloane Stephens 63 1085 CoCo Vandeweghe 151 156 Caroline Dolehide 197 28 Captain: Kathy Rinaldi

Format

The 12 teams are divided in four round robin groups of three teams each. The four group winners will qualify for the semifinals.

Day	Round	Number of teams
1–4 November	Round robin	12 (4 groups of 3 teams)
5 November	Semifinals	4
6 November	Final	2

Group stage

	Qualified for the Knockout stage

Overview

T = Ties, M = Matches, S = Sets

Group	Winners				Runners-up				Third
	Nation	T	M	S	Nation	T	M	S	Nation	T	M	S
A	RTF	2–0	5–1	11–4	Canada	1–1	2–4	5–9	France	0–2	2–4	6–9
B	Australia	2–0	4–2	8–7	Belgium	1–1	3–3	8–7	Belarus	0–2	2–4	6–8
C	United States	1–1	3–3	7–6	Slovakia	1–1	3–3	8–8	Spain	1–1	3–3	7–8
D	Switzerland	2–0	5–1	10–3	Czech Republic	1–1	3–3	7–7	Germany	0–2	1–5	4–11

Group A

Pos.	Country	Ties	Matches	Sets	Sets %	Games	Games %
1	RTF	2–0	5–1	11–4	73%	82–51	62%
2	Canada	1–1	2–4	5–9	36%	59–76	44%
3	France	0–2	2–4	6–9	40%	67–81	45%

France vs. Canada

France 1	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic[9] 1 November 2021 Hard (i)		Canada 2
1 2 3 1 Fiona Ferro Françoise Abanda 6 4 4 6 4 6   2 Alizé Cornet Rebecca Marino 6 4 77 65     3 Clara Burel / Alizé Cornet Gabriela Dabrowski / Rebecca Marino 3 6 66 78

RTF vs. Canada

Russia 3	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic[10] 2 November 2021 Hard (i)		Canada 0
1 2 3 1 Daria Kasatkina Carol Zhao 6 3 6 1     2 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Rebecca Marino 6 4 4 6 6 2   3 Veronika Kudermetova / Liudmila Samsonova Gabriela Dabrowski / Rebecca Marino 6 3 6 1

France vs. RTF

France 1	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic[11] 3 November 2021 Hard (i)		Russia 2
1 2 3 1 Clara Burel Ekaterina Alexandrova 3 6 6 4 6 3   2 Alizé Cornet Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7 5 4 6 2 6   3 Clara Burel / Alizé Cornet Veronika Kudermetova / Liudmila Samsonova 2 6 1 6

Group B

Pos.	Country	Ties	Matches	Sets	Sets %	Games	Games %
1	Australia	2–0	4–2	8–7	63%	71–67	51%
2	Belgium	1–1	3–3	8–7	53%	73–61	54%
3	Belarus	0–2	2–4	6–8	43%	55–71	44%

Belarus vs. Belgium

Belarus 1	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic[12] 1 November 2021 Hard (i)		Belgium 2
1 2 3 1 Iryna Shymanovich Greet Minnen 2 6 2 6     2 Aliaksandra Sasnovich Elise Mertens 2 6 6 4 2 6   3 Vera Lapko / Aliaksandra Sasnovich Kirsten Flipkens / Elise Mertens 6 4 6 3

Australia vs. Belgium

Australia 2	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic[13] 2 November 2021 Hard (i)		Belgium 1
1 2 3 1 Daria Gavrilova Greet Minnen 6 4 1 6 6 4   2 Storm Sanders Elise Mertens 3 6 77 65 6 0   3 Ellen Perez / Storm Sanders Elise Mertens / Greet Minnen 2 6 4 6

Australia vs. Belarus

Australia 2	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic[14] 4 November 2021 Hard (i)		Belarus 1
1 2 3 1 Storm Sanders Yuliya Hatouka 6 3 6 3     2 Ajla Tomljanović Aliaksandra Sasnovich 4 6 6 2 6 3   3 Olivia Gadecki / Ellen Perez Lidziya Marozava / Aliaksandra Sasnovich 4 6 4 6

Group C

Pos.	Country	Ties	Matches	Sets	Sets %	Games	Games %
1	United States	1–1	3–3	7–6	54%	60–51	54%
2	Slovakia	1–1	3–3	8–8	50%	64–66	49%
3	Spain	1–1	3–3	7–8	47%	58–65	47%

Spain vs. Slovakia

Spain 2	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic[15] 1 November 2021 Hard (i)		Slovakia 1
1 2 3 1 Carla Suárez Navarro Viktória Kužmová 2 6 6 3 3 6   2 Sara Sorribes Tormo Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6 3 3 6 6 2   3 Sara Sorribes Tormo / Carla Suárez Navarro Viktória Kužmová / Tereza Mihalíková 4 6 6 2 [10] [7]

United States vs. Slovakia

United States 1	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic[16] 2 November 2021 Hard (i)		Slovakia 2
1 2 3 1 Shelby Rogers Viktória Kužmová 4 6 4 6     2 Danielle Collins Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6 3 6 2     3 Caroline Dolehide / CoCo Vandeweghe Viktória Kužmová / Tereza Mihalíková 2 6 77 65 [10] [12]

United States vs. Spain

United States 2	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic[17] 3 November 2021 Hard (i)		Spain 1
1 2 3 1 Sloane Stephens Nuria Párrizas Díaz 6 4 6 4     2 Danielle Collins Sara Sorribes Tormo 6 1 6 0     3 Caroline Dolehide / CoCo Vandeweghe Aliona Bolsova / Rebeka Masarova 3 6 4 6

Group D

Pos.	Country	Ties	Matches	Sets	Sets %	Games	Games %
1	Switzerland	2–0	5–1	10–3	77%	73–51	59%
2	Czech Republic	1–1	3–3	7–7	50%	64–64	50%
3	Germany	0–2	1–5	4–11	27%	56–78	42%

Czech Republic vs. Germany

Czech Republic 2	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic[18] 1 November 2021 Hard (i)		Germany 1
1 2 3 1 Markéta Vondroušová Andrea Petkovic 6 1 6 3     2 Barbora Krejčíková Angelique Kerber 77 65 0 6 4 6   3 Lucie Hradecká / Kateřina Siniaková Anna-Lena Friedsam / Jule Niemeier 6 4 62 77 [10] [8]

Germany vs. Switzerland

Germany 0	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic[19] 2 November 2021 Hard (i)		Switzerland 3
1 2 3 1 Andrea Petkovic Viktorija Golubic 4 6 5 7     2 Angelique Kerber Belinda Bencic 7 5 2 6 2 6   3 Anna-Lena Friedsam / Nastasja Schunk Viktorija Golubic / Jil Teichmann 1 6 2 6

Czech Republic vs. Switzerland

Czech Republic 1	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic[20] 4 November 2021 Hard (i)		Switzerland 2
1 2 3 1 Markéta Vondroušová Viktorija Golubic 6 4 6 2     2 Barbora Krejčíková Belinda Bencic 62 77 4 6     3 Lucie Hradecká / Kateřina Siniaková Belinda Bencic / Jil Teichmann 3 6 3 6

Knockout stage

Bracket

	Semifinals				Final
	RTF	2
	United States	1
					RTF	2
					Switzerland	0
	Australia	0
	Switzerland	2

Semifinals

RTF vs. United States

Russia 2	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic[21] 5 November 2021 Hard (i)		United States 1
1 2 3 1 Liudmila Samsonova Sloane Stephens 1 6 6 4 6 3   2 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Danielle Collins 711 69 62 77 2 6   3 Veronika Kudermetova / Liudmila Samsonova Shelby Rogers / CoCo Vandeweghe 6 3 6 3

Australia vs. Switzerland

Australia 0	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic[22] 5 November 2021 Hard (i)		Switzerland 2
1 2 3 1 Storm Sanders Jil Teichmann 0 6 3 6     2 Ajla Tomljanović Belinda Bencic 3 6 2 6     3 Ellen Perez / Storm Sanders Viktorija Golubic / Stefanie Vögele       not played

Final

RTF vs. Switzerland

Russia 2	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic[23][6] 6 November 2021 Hard (i)		Switzerland 0
1 2 3 1 Daria Kasatkina Jil Teichmann 6 2 6 4     2 Liudmila Samsonova Belinda Bencic 3 6 6 3 6 4   3 Ekaterina Alexandrova / Daria Kasatkina Viktorija Golubic / Stefanie Vögele       not played

References

1. "Fed Cup Finals and Play-offs postponed". billiejeankingcup.com. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
2. "Billie Jean King Cup Finals to be rescheduled in 2021". billiejeankingcup.com. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
3. "Billie Jean King Cup Finals to be moved from Budapest". SportsPro. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
4. O2 Arena News
5. BJK Cup News
6. "Samsonova leads Russia to fifth Billie Jean King Cup title". Reuters. 6 November 2021.
7. "Billie Jean King Cup Finals to take place in November at Prague's O2 Arena". billiejeankingcup.com. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
8. "Billie Jean King Cup - Teams". billiejeankingcup.com. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
9. "France v Canada". billiejeankingcup.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
10. "Russian Tennis Federation v Canada". billiejeankingcup.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
11. "France v Russian Tennis Federation". billiejeankingcup.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
12. "Belarus v Belgium". billiejeankingcup.com. Archived from the original on 2021-09-18. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
13. "Australia v Belgium". billiejeankingcup.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-18. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
14. "Australia v Belarus". billiejeankingcup.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
15. "Spain v Slovakia". billiejeankingcup.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-14. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
16. "United States v Slovakia". billiejeankingcup.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
17. "United States v Spain". billiejeankingcup.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
18. "Czech Republic v Germany". billiejeankingcup.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
19. "Germany v Switzerland". billiejeankingcup.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
20. "Czech Republic v Switzerland". billiejeankingcup.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
21. "Russian Tennis Federation v United States". billiejeankingcup.com.
22. "Australia v Switzerland". billiejeankingcup.com.
23. "Russian Tennis Federation v Switzerland". billiejeankingcup.com.

External links

• Official website