About The Billie Jean King Cup

The Billie Jean King Cup, formerly known as Fed Cup, is the largest international women's team sport in the world, with more than 100 nations competing each year.

Dating back to the competition's inception in 1963, the U.S. team has won a record 18 championships and carries with it more than 50 years of tradition, led by a group of women who play each tie with patriotic pride and passion.

In September of 2020, the competition was officially named in honor of King, who won it 10 times in her career: seven times as a player and four times as a captain (including once as a player-captain).

King won the inaugural Fed Cup for the U.S. in 1963 and, more recently, was presented with the Fed Cup Award of Excellence in 2010 before being appointed as the competition’s first global ambassador in 2019.

“There is nothing quite like the feeling of representing your country and being part of a team, which is why this competition is so special and important to me," King said. "It is an honor to have the women’s world cup of tennis carry my name and a responsibility I will not take lightly. Our job is to share this vision with future generations of young girls, because if you can see it, you can be it.”

Several of the greatest female players of all time have represented the U.S. in Billie Jean King Cup play, including Serena Williams and Venus Williams; Martina Navratilova, who never lost in 15 singles matches; and Chris Evert, who holds the U.S. record for the most matches player (42) and the most consecutive Fed Cup matches won (35).

The format for a Billie Jean King Cup tie is as follows: two singles matches on Saturday, featuring each nation's No. 1 versus the other nation's No. 2, followed on Sunday by two reverse singles matches (No. 1 vs. No 1, No. 2 vs. No. 2), capped by the decisive doubles match.

Starting with the 2021 event (after the postponement of the 2020 event), a new Finals format was introduced, creating a "World Cup of Tennis" that features 12 teams competing in a six-day tournament.