The Billie Jean King (BJK) Cup Finals - the premiere female national team competition's ultimate week - are heading to Shenzhen, China.
Over the past four years, the tournament's finals have been hosted on an annual rotation, venturing from Prague to Glasgow to Seville, and most recently, Malaga.
The rotation system came into effect in 2021, where after a one-year hiatus due to Covid-19, the event moved on from home-and-away ties, much to the disappointment of many fans.
Before that, ties were played in one of the two competing nations right through to the final, with Australia hosting the last home-and-away decider in 2019.
That run saw Ash Barty lead the Aussies through a quarterfinal against the USA in Nashville, and a semifinal against Belarus in Brisbane, before suffering a defeat in Perth against France (*Side note - the run saw Barty go undefeated en route to the final, beating Danielle Collins, Victoria Azarenka, Aryna Sabalenka and Madison Keys, if you don't mind!).
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Since then, the latter stages have been played in one city as three-match ties as opposed to previously being over five rubbers.
And after four cities in four years, the event put its finals back up for bid, where Shenzhen won the auction and will host from 2025 through to 2027.
It comes four years after the WTA suspended all tournaments in China for 18 months following the disappearance of tennis star, Peng Shuai.
The tour went back to the nation in 2023 and the WTA released the following statement upon its return:
"In 2021, when Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai bravely came forward, the WTA took a stance and suspended its operation of events in China out of concern for her safety and the safety of our players and staff. When we moved forward with this decision, we were not sure if others would join us. We received much praise for our principled stand and believe we sent a powerful message to the world. But praise alone is insufficient to bring about change."
They also noted that while “the situation has shown no signs of changing”, they had been given assurances “that [Peng Shuai] was living safely with her family in Beijing."
Following the announcement, many commentators, including Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated, pointed out that stepping away from China had significantly hurt the WTA financially; and would have been a major incentive to return.
Now, in 2025, the Internation Tennis Federation (ITF) have made the decsion to take their premier week to China; where eight nations will visit for the BJK Cup Finals later this year.
It will mark the first time that China has hosted the event and its first return to Asia since Tokyo hosted the 'Fed Cup' in 1989.
World No.5 Qinwen Zheng believes the announcent is a reflection of China's development in the sport and will help to inspire the next generation.
"Having the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen is a dream come true for myself and other Chinese tennis players," Zheng said in a statement.
"This event reflects the incredible progress of tennis in China and highlights how women's sports continue to thrive here. I can't wait to see how it inspires more young girls to pick up a tennis racket and dream big."
As for which nations will be in action, China (host) and Italy (reigning champions) will automatically qualify, while the winners of the following groups will make up the final six countries.
Australia has also been awarded the right to host its qualifying group in early April (city/venue to be announced), taking on Kazakhstan and Colombia for a spot in the Shenzhen finals field.
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