By Frank Pingue
(Reuters) – Scheduling concerns will keep some of the top women’s players from competing at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in November and the tournament’s namesake said on Wednesday that the calendar needs a rethink.
The showpiece women’s team event, featuring 12 nations and a prize money purse of $9 million, will take place from Nov. 7-12 in Seville, Spain and begins two days after the conclusion of the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico.
As a result, Poland’s Iga Swiatek is skipping the Billie Jean King Cup Finals for the second consecutive year while U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, the two highest-ranked American players, were absent from the U.S. team roster.
When Swiatek pulled out in 2022 due to a short rest period after the WTA Finals she said the “situation is not safe for our health” and hit out at tennis’ governing bodies for the sport’s packed schedule.
The location for this year’s WTA Finals was only announced in September and King feels determining the tournament site so close to the start date hurts the sport.
“I put my player’s cap on and I go, ‘I kind of want to know the schedule ahead of time, not keep waiting to know when any of the tournaments are going to happen,'” King told a virtual media session ahead of the Seville event.
“Can you imagine if a major didn’t know their dates? I mean, it’s like no, we got to know dates, got to get that organized.
“It’s in the best interest of our whole sport and it’s really important that everyone in tennis really think about the sport and what’s best for it and for the audience and for the people who care about it.”
King said she was unsure how many discussions have gone on regarding the crowded schedule but feels the governing bodies of international tennis should try to figure out a better calendar.
“I would like us to sit down and really try to figure out so everybody wins,” said King. “Maybe someone has to compromise a little but we all get up from the table as winners and I think that takes time and effort and communication.”
Former world number two Conchita Martinez, who will serve as tournament director for this year’s Billie Jean King Cup, said on the same media call that the absence of some high-profile players would not take away from the event.
“We need to focus on the positive here,” said Martinez. “To tell you the truth, when I looked at the names that we have in the players I think that we have amazing players and are going to see great competition.”
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)
