Everything you want to know about the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen is right here!

The Billie Jean King Cup has a rich history and is the premier international women's tennis team competition in the world. Originally known as the Federation Cup, it was established in 1963 and was officially renamed the Billie Jean King Cup in 2020 to honor the extraordinary contributions of tennis legend Billie Jean King to the development of women's tennis, as well as her efforts in promoting women's sports and gender equality.

Today, the Billie Jean King Cup consists of four competition levels—Regional Groups, Play-offs, Qualifiers, and Finals. At the top of the pyramid is the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, often referred to as the "Women's Tennis World Cup," where only the best teams in the world compete for the ultimate championship trophy each year. This year, a record 146 nations and regions participated at various stages, with eight teams ultimately qualifying for the Finals in Shenzhen.

The defending champion is the Italian team.

The United States team is the most successful in the history of the event, having won the championship 18 times. The defending champions are the strong Italian team, who claimed their fifth title last year. China made its debut in the competition in 1981, with its best performance reaching the semifinals in 2008.

From 2025 to 2027, the Billie Jean King Cup Finals will be held in Shenzhen, China, for three consecutive years. The 2025 Finals will take place from September 16 to 21 at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center (also known as the "Spring Cocoon"). This will be the first time the Finals are held outside of Europe since the event was named after Billie Jean King in 2020.

A total of eight teams have qualified for this year's Finals, with the host nation China and the defending champions Italy qualifying directly, while Japan, Spain, the United States, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Great Britain advanced through the qualifiers held in April this year.

Submission Deadline: The roster will be announced on the Monday eight weeks before the Finals begin, with this year's submission deadline set for July 21. Each participating nation or region's tennis association must submit the roster to the ITF.

Number of Players: If the captain participates in the matches, the number of players is one participating captain plus three to four players; if the captain does not play, the number is one non-participating captain plus four to five players.

Roster Changes: Changes can be made until 11:00 AM (local time) on the day before the Finals begin (September 15), allowing for a maximum of four already registered players to be changed. Adding a new player rather than replacing one is also considered a change.

- Eight teams will start from the quarter-finals in a knockout format. Each matchup will consist of three matches, including two singles and one doubles, with each match played in a best-of-three sets format (with a tiebreaker at 6-6).

- In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, if one side wins both singles matches, the doubles match will still be played—unless both teams and the umpire agree to waive it. In the finals, if one side wins both singles matches, the doubles match will be canceled.

- One hour before the match begins, the captain must submit the lineup, including two singles and one doubles pair. Based on the world rankings announced on September 15 (no protected rankings), the higher-ranked player will be designated as the team's number one singles player, and the lower-ranked player as number two. Once the lineup is confirmed, singles cannot be changed, but doubles can be altered—provided the changes are submitted within 15 minutes after the singles matches conclude.

- Match Order: The first singles match will feature the number two players from each team, followed by the number one players, with the doubles match scheduled last.

- During the matches, no one except the participating players, captains, officials, and ball boys may enter the court without the umpire's permission. The captain must remain seated next to their team's bench and cannot leave that area without permission. The captain may communicate with their players, the main referee, and the umpire, but must not speak to any line judges.

Tickets for the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen went on sale on August 8, Beijing time! Fans can purchase tickets through the "Watch a Match," "Ticket Star," and "Love Sports" ticketing platforms, while overseas viewers should visit "Watch a Match" to buy tickets.