BEIJING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Team nominations for the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals were announced on Monday, with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen set to lead host China in the eight-team tournament scheduled for September 16 to 21 at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center.
The competition features a star-studded line-up including five current or former WTA top-10 players: Zheng Qinwen, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Jasmine Paolini and Paula Badosa.
China will open the tournament on September 16 against defending champion Italy. Zheng will be joined by Wang Xinyu, Yuan Yue, Zhang Shuai and Jiang Xinyu, with Liu Feng serving as team captain. Italy's squad includes world No. 9 Paolini and veteran Sara Errani.
Spain, led by Badosa and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, will take on Ukraine in the second quarterfinal on September 17. The Ukrainian team will make its Finals debut, with Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk among its key players.
Two quarterfinal ties are scheduled for September 18. Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, headlines Kazakhstan's team as they face a powerful United States lineup featuring Pegula, Keys and world No. 11 Emma Navarro. The same day, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka will lead Japan against a strong British squad anchored by 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu.
All ties will be played in a best-of-three format, consisting of two singles matches followed by a doubles match.
