Billie Jean King Cup Finals 2025: Great Britain vs USA preview
• 2 MINUTE READ
Following on from their victory against Japan, the Lexus Great Britain Billie Jean King Cup team are set to take on the USA in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals semi-finals in Shenzhen. Find out everything you need to know about the blockbuster tie.
When is Great Britain vs USA?
Great Britain will contest their semi-final match against the USA on Saturday 20 September.
The tie will begin at 10:00 BST and will follow a best of three match format.
How to watch Great Britain vs USA
You can watch every tie from the Billie Jean King Cup Finals on the Tennis Channel.
All of Great Britain’s ties will also be broadcast live on the Tennis Channel, as well as BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app and the Red Button.
The teams
| Great Britain | USA |
| Captain: Anne Keothavong | Captain: Lindsay Davenport |
| Katie Boulter (world No.55) | Jessica Pegula (world No.7) |
| Francesca Jones (world No.77) | Emma Navarro (world No.18) |
| Sonay Kartal (world No.82) | McCartney Kessler (world No.38) |
| Jodie Burrage (world No.149) | Hailey Baptiste (world No.50) |
| Taylor Townsend (world No.1 - doubles / world No.116 - singles) |
Great Britain vs USA head-to-head
The USA convincingly leads the head-to-head against the Brits 9-1. The two nations first met in the 1963 World Group semi-finals where an American team consisting of Darlene Hard, Billie Jean King and Carole Graebner beat Britain’s Ann Jones and Christine Janes 3-0.
Great Britain secured their only win in 1970, before the USA won the next four ties in a row. The pair haven’t met at the Billie Jean King Cup since 1992 and with plenty having changed since then, it’s safe to say anything is possible heading into this highly-anticipated semi-final clash.
Preview
Great Britain comes into the tie with USA full of confidence after brushing aside Japan 2-0 in their quarter-final match, thanks to straight sets wins from Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter.
Kartal looked strong once again in her match against Ena Shibahara on Thursday. The 23-year-old has enjoyed some standout moments on the WTA Tour this year - including a fourth round appearance at Wimbledon and Indian Wells - and has also made a fast start to her Billie Jean King Cup career, having won all three matches she’s played for her country to date.
Meanwhile, Boulter continued her impressive form in Billie Jean King Cup ties as she dropped just three games on her way to securing victory over Moyuka Uchijima in the quarter-finals. Her performance against the 24-year-old Japanese star was one of her best of the season and she’ll be hoping to pick up where she left off against the USA, as she bids to lead her nation to the final for the first time in 44 years.
The Brits singles wins meant we didn’t get to see doubles duo Jodie Burrage and Francesca Jones in action against Japan - but both players are ready to go should they be needed. Jones has been in exceptional form of late, having claimed two WTA 125 titles and made the semi-finals of the WTA 250 event in Sao Paulo before heading to Shenzhen, while Burrage is slowly getting back to her best following a tough battle with injuries last year.
They will face a stern challenge however against 18-time Billie Jean King Cup champions USA on Saturday. Former US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula comes in as the highest ranked singles player in the tie and will be looking to bounce back from her straight set defeat against Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals.
Former world No.8 Emma Navarro made a red hot start to her campaign in Shenzhen after she came through a tough three-set battle against Yulia Putintseva to give her country the early lead.
Doubles world No.1 Taylor Townsend has been in sensational form of late on both the singles and doubles court. Townsend enjoyed a run to the fourth round of the women’s singles event at the US Open and finished runner-up in the doubles.
The 29-year-old carried that momentum with her into the Billie Jean King Cup Finals and teamed up with Pegula to edge a tight deciding doubles rubber against Rybakina and Putintseva to secure the USA’s spot in the semi-finals.
Lindsay Davenport’s USA team also features Lexus Nottingham Open champion McCartney Kessler and 23-year-old Hailey Baptiste, who reached the fourth round at Roland Garros this summer.
