Billie Jean King Cup: Format and Schedule 2026
What is the Billie Jean King Cup?
The Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge, formerly known as the Fed Cup, is the World Cup of tennis.
In September 2020, the competition was officially named in honour of 39-time Grand Slam Champion 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).
It offers players from around the world the chance to represent their country and, with more than 100 nations involved, is the largest annual international team competition in women’s sport.
How does it work?
The Billie Jean King Cup is split into four sections: the Finals, Qualifiers, Play-Offs and Groups.
The Billie Jean King Cup will kick-start with the Qualifiers. This year the Qualifiers will be played as one home-or-away tie against one other nation, with the winner progressing to the Finals. These Qualifiers will be played on the 10-11 April.
The Billie Jean King Cup Finals are set to take place in Shenzhen, China, later in September.
The nations that lose in the Qualifiers will go on to compete in the 2026 Play-offs alongside the best performing teams from the 2026 Regional Group I events.
Key Billie Jean King Cup 2026 dates
|
10-11 April |
Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers |
|
w/c 21 September |
Billie Jean King Cup Finals |
| w/c 16 November |
Billie Jean King Cup Play-offs |
What is the scoring format at the Billie Jean King Cup?
Billie Jean King Cup Finals: The Finals will follow a knockout draw (quarter-finals, semi-finals, final) with eight teams competing to take home the crown.
Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers: Qualifiers will consist seven home-or-away ties with the winners progressing to the Finals. Ties are played as best of five matches - four singles and one doubles.
Billie Jean King Cup Play-offs: This year's Play-offs will follow a round-robin format with seven groups of three teams. There will be one host nation per group with the Play-offs taking place across three days. The seven group winners will then progress to the 2026 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers.
Regional Groups I-IV: Groups I-IV will be divided into regions: Africa, Americas, Asia/Oceana and Europe/Africa. Group I is the highest regional division and Group IV the lowest.
Full details around the format of the Billie Jean King Cup can be found below: