The 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Shenzhen Finals: A Look at the Quarterfinalists - The U.S. Team Aiming to Return to the Top

As the most successful team in the history of the Billie Jean King Cup, the U.S. team has participated for 62 consecutive years since the tournament's inception in 1963, winning 18 titles. However, the last time the U.S. team claimed the Billie Jean King Cup was eight years ago in 2017. This September, led by top 10 singles players Pegula and Keys, along with current doubles player Townsend, the U.S. team is eager to reclaim their former glory in Shenzhen.

Currently ranked No. 4 in singles, Pegula is the highest-ranked player on the U.S. team. She won her first career title at the WTA 250 event in Washington in 2019 and reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time at the 2021 Australian Open. Since then, her consistent performances helped her achieve her career-high ranking of No. 3 in October 2022, and she made her debut at the WTA Finals that year. At Wimbledon 2023, Pegula achieved the milestone of reaching all four Grand Slam quarterfinals and made it to her first Grand Slam singles final at the 2024 U.S. Open, finishing as the runner-up. From 2023 to 2024, Pegula won the WTA Rogers Cup for two consecutive years; this year, she has already secured three titles across hard, clay, and grass courts.

Pegula has also had significant success in doubles, having reached the No. 1 ranking in doubles in September 2023. At the 2022 French Open, Pegula partnered with Gauff to win the women's doubles runner-up title. She has also claimed seven WTA doubles titles, including the 2022 WTA 1000 events in Doha and Toronto, as well as the 2023 WTA 1000 event in Miami, and qualified for the WTA Finals in both 2022 and 2023.

Keys rose to fame at a young age and has consistently performed well on the WTA tour, achieving stable rankings. This year, she experienced a transformation, winning her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and going on a 16-match winning streak. Currently ranked No. 8 in the world, she has previously reached a high of No. 5. Keys won her first career title at the WTA 500 event in Eastbourne in 2014 and has reached the quarterfinals of Grand Slams 12 times, making it to the semifinals seven times. In 2016, Keys finished fourth in women's singles at the Rio Olympics and qualified for the WTA Finals. In 2017, she advanced to her first Grand Slam singles final at the U.S. Open, finishing as the runner-up. In 2018 at the French Open, Keys achieved the feat of reaching all four Grand Slam quarterfinals. In doubles, she reached the semifinals of the French Open in 2022 alongside Townsend.

Currently ranked No. 11 in singles, Navarro is a rising star on the U.S. team over the past two years. She won her first career title at the WTA 250 event in Hobart in 2024 and made significant breakthroughs in last year's four Grand Slam tournaments: reaching the third round at the Australian Open, the fourth round at the French Open, the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, and the semifinals at the U.S. Open. Her consistent performances throughout the year allowed her to achieve a career-high ranking of No. 8 in September 2024. This year, Navarro won her highest-level title at the WTA 500 event in Merida and achieved impressive results, including reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the fourth round at Wimbledon. In doubles, Navarro teamed up with Schneider at the 2024 French Open, defeating Zhang Shuai/Sterns and Hsieh Su-wei/Mertens to reach the women's doubles quarterfinals.

Current WTA doubles world No. 1 Townsend is a gifted doubles player and will be a key member of the U.S. team in this tournament. In 2020, Townsend won her first career title at the WTA 250 event in Auckland with Muhammad. At the 2022 U.S. Open and the 2023 French Open, Townsend partnered with McNally and Fernandez, respectively, to finish as the runners-up in women's doubles. In 2024 at Wimbledon, Townsend achieved a career breakthrough, winning her first Grand Slam title alongside Siniakova, and claimed the runner-up title at the WTA Finals that year. At the Australian Open this year, Townsend and Siniakova continued their success, winning their second Grand Slam women's doubles title together. Recently, at the WTA 500 event in Washington, Townsend and Zhang Shuai claimed the championship, leading to her first ascent to the No. 1 ranking in doubles.

In singles, Townsend made a name for herself at the 2019 U.S. Open, starting from the qualifying rounds and defeating then No. 4 Halep in the main draw. In 2024, she reached the women's singles quarterfinals at the WTA 1000 event in Toronto as a lucky loser and later advanced to the round of 16 at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati. This year, Townsend made it to the women's singles quarterfinals at the recently concluded WTA 500 event in Washington as a qualifier.

American player Baptiste is currently ranked No. 50 in singles and has had multiple experiences breaking through from Grand Slam qualifying rounds in her career. In 2024, Baptiste advanced to the round of 16 in Wuhan, starting from the qualifiers, marking her best performance in a WTA 1000 event. This season, Baptiste reached the third round at both the Miami and Rome WTA 1000 events and made it to the third round at Wimbledon; at the French Open, she achieved a personal breakthrough by reaching the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time.

In the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, Baptiste, as a key player, achieved two consecutive victories in her singles matches, helping the U.S. team successfully defeat last year's runner-up Slovakia and Denmark, securing a spot in this year's Shenzhen Finals.

Davenport

Tennis legend Davenport serves as the captain of the U.S. team for the Billie Jean King Cup Shenzhen Finals. A three-time Grand Slam singles champion and a three-time Grand Slam doubles champion with ten runner-up finishes, she holds the record for the most years representing the U.S. team in the history of the Billie Jean King Cup (11 years). Throughout her career in this event, Davenport has achieved an impressive record of 24 wins and 3 losses in singles and 3 wins and 0 losses in doubles, helping the U.S. team win the Billie Jean King Cup in 1996, 1999, and 2000.

Billie Jean King Cup Shenzhen Finals Schedule

The team rosters for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals were submitted by national tennis associations on July 21. Each team has four opportunities to adjust their roster until the day before the event starts, and the final player selection will be determined based on the actual situation.

The U.S. team's first match is scheduled for September 18 at 10:00 AM Beijing time, against Kazakhstan. The winner of this match will face the winner between Japan and the United Kingdom in the semifinals on September 20 at 5:00 PM, while the final will take place on September 21 at 5:00 PM.

Fans and supporters from around the world are welcome to come to the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center ("Spring Cocoon") to cheer for their teams! Ticket details for the Billie Jean King Cup Shenzhen Finals will be announced soon, so stay tuned!