2024 Finals: Spotlight on USA
01/11/2024 09:00
The most successful team in Billie Jean King Cup history, the USA will head to Malaga aiming to claim a 19th title in this competition
By Kevin Palmer
USA
Ranking: 5
Champions: 1963, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2017
THE HISTORY
USA's most recent win came in 2017, as CoCo Vandeweghe and Sloane Stephens led the way in a win against a Belarus side featuring rising star Aryna Sabalenka.
In what was Kathy Rinaldi's final campaign as captain, her team came up short in the Seville Finals last year and they will be aiming for more with a strong team named by new captain Lindsay Davenport.
RECORD BREAKERS
The great Chris Evert is a dominant name in the USA record books for this competition, with the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion boasting the most total wins for her nation (57), the most singles wins (40) and the most ties played (42).
New USA Billie Jean King Cup captain Lindsay Davenport has played in more years of this competition than any other American (11), while the youngest player to represent USA is Jennifer Capriati, who was just 14 when she made her debut in 1990.
HOW THEY QUALIFIED
Davenport's first tie as USA captain saw her team take on Belgium at USTA National Campus in Orlando last April and they secured a comfortable 3-0 win.
Jessica Pegula led the team as she was forced to fight hard to beat Sofia Costoulas over three sets, with Hanne Vandewinkel also performing well for Belgium as she pushed the in-form Emma Navarro to three sets before slipping to a defeat.
Pegula then wrapped up the win with a victory against Vandewinkel to seal USA's return to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
MEET THE CAPTAIN - Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport took on a huge challenge when she replaced Kathy Rinaldi as USA Billie Jean King Cup captain this year, with the six-time Grand Slam champion relishing the challenge of leading the most successful nation in the competition's history.
"Kathy has been an amazing role model to not only the players now but also myself, and I look forward to continuing what she started the last seven years," said Davenport.
"She's done a remarkable job and I look forward to the US hopefully winning it this year so that when I'm captain, we're defending champions.”
Davenport won three Grand Slam singles titles in her career, starting with the 1998 US Open and backing it up with wins at Wimbledon a year later and in the 2000 Australian Open.
She was also a stalwart of the USA Billie Jean King Cup team, boasting a hugely impressive 26-3 record in singles matches and a flawless 7-0 record in doubles.
She started her reign as USA captain with a fine win against Belgium in April's Qualifiers and clearly enjoyed the challenge.
"These ladies were amazing," she said after the tie. "Everything I wanted in terms of teamwork, being together, a lot of funny stuff. It was really great.
"To see them battle through conditions that weren't perfect for either of my players was impressive. It was fun spending time with these ladies, getting to know them. Some I didn't know that well before I got here. I was really pleased with how this first week went. Now on to the Finals."
WHO'S IN THE TEAM?
Danielle Collins looked set to bring down the curtain on her career at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, but she reversed her retirement plan and will carry on playing in 2025.
This decision follows an impressive year for Collins after she won the WTA 1000 Miami Open in March and returned to the top ten of the WTA rankings.
Following Jessica Pegula's decision to withdraw from the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, Ashlyn Krueger has been added to the team after a year that saw the former Orange Bowl champion enjoy several milestones in 2024, building on the momentum of a first year-end top 100 finish in 2023.
Caroline Dolehide and Taylor Townsend will provide impressive doubles prowess and rising star Peyton Stearns will complete the team.
