Glasgow chosen to host Billie Jean King Cup tennis finals in November
The finals of the premier team competition in international women’s tennis will be played in Glasgow and will be coming to Great Britain for the first time since 1991.
The finals will be hosted at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena across 8-13 November, and will see 12 teams, including Great Britain as host nation, compete to win the rose bowl trophy.
The finals will cap a year in which the LTA is putting a special focus on putting tennis at the forefront of women’s sport. The event will be used to raise awareness of tennis as the leading women’s sport and inspire more women and girls to get on court for the first time.
The Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas is the name since 2020 for the women’s world cup of tennis, which was previously known as the Federation Cup and then the Fed Cup. Each country is allowed to field a team of up to 5 players, who compete in singles and (if needed) a doubles match in each tie.
Joining Great Britain in the finals will be teams from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Kazakhstan, Poland, Spain, Slovakia, Switzerland and the USA. The 12 teams will compete in four round robin groups of three. The four group winners will then qualify for semi-finals.
The LTA has stated its ambition to bring more major events to Great Britain and the Billie Jean Cup will join the Group Stage of the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals, which will also be hosted in Glasgow in September. Making Glasgow the first city to host Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup Finals events in the same year. The LTA will work closely with Tennis Scotland and other local partners to ensure the event can benefit engagement and participation in tennis in Scotland and across Great Britain. Tickets will be on sale later in year.
Bailie Annette Christie, Chair of Glasgow Life and the Glasgow Events Board, said: “It’s terrific news that Glasgow will welcome the Billie Jean King Cup finals in November, bringing yet another fantastic international tennis event to the city in 2022. Our world-class Emirates Arena will be the perfect host, reinforcing Glasgow’s reputation as one of the top five sporting cities in the world. One of Glasgow Life’s priorities is encouraging more women and girls into sport and physical activity. Hosting the women’s world cup of tennis provides another excellent opportunity to harness the power and profile of international sporting events, which we will use to create more participation at grassroots level. Through culture and sport, we believe that everyone in the city can lead a great Glasgow life and we look forward to working with partners, including the LTA and EventScotland, to ensure we deliver a successful and exciting event with a lasting off-court legacy.”
Anne Keothavong, Great Britain, Billie Jean King Cup Captain said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to build the profile of women’s tennis and focus attention on women’s sport. The entire team are very excited about playing in front of a home crowd and hearing some loud support across the whole week.”
Scott Lloyd, Chief Executive of the LTA said: “We have said that we were ambitious to bring more major events to Great Britain and raise the profile of tennis across the whole year, and I’m delighted that Glasgow will be hosting the Billie Jean King Cup Finals as well as the Davis Cup Finals Group stage this year. The first ever finals were held in Great Britain in 1963, and it’s brilliant that the finals will be returning here for the first time since 1991. This gives us a great chance to open up tennis to more people, and create special memories that we hope will inspire the next generation of players.”
David Haggerty, ITF President said: “We are delighted to be bringing the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Finals to Glasgow. The LTA presented a very impressive bid as part of a competitive hosting process. They have successfully hosted Davis Cup ties in Glasgow, and we look forward to having the women’s World Cup of Tennis take place in front of passionate tennis fans from around the world in an electric atmosphere, at the culmination of the women’s tennis season.”