Madrid. The Billie Jean Tennis King Cup Final begins in Málaga this week, in partnership with the Davis Cup and with a special focus on the victims of the recent devastating floods in eastern Spain.
This will be the first time that the women’s team tournament will be held at the same venue as the Davis Cup and the dates will overlap with each other. And for the second year in a row, it will offer prize money equal to the men’s competition.
The women’s event comes two weeks after a powerful storm caused flash flooding that killed more than 200 people in the Valencia region, east of Málaga.
The International Tennis Federation announced a donation to the Spanish Red Cross to support relief and recovery efforts in the region, and Spanish player Paula Badosa said she would donate half of her prize money to help the victims.
“I’m excited to represent my country, but I won’t forget what’s really important in these moments,” Badosa said in a social media post.
Spain will face Iga Swiatek‘s Poland, who will be led by Badosa, on the opening day of the competition on Tuesday, after the former second-placed player considered retiring after battling an old back injury.
“I think this year has been a bit of a roller coaster ride,” Badosa said. I am very proud of myself for how I overcame these difficult situations and also how I finished this season. I finished this year on a very high note. I am really happy, because there was a time this season when I was far from the level I wanted to reach.”
On Wednesday, the United States will face Slovakia, with Lindsay Davenport’s team featuring Ashlyn Kruger in place of Jessica Pegula, with other players on the team being Danielle Collins, Caroline Dolehide, Peyton Stearns and Taylor Townsend.
Also on Wednesday, Japan will play Romania without Naomi Osaka, while Germany will face Britain on Thursday. Defending champions Canada, Australia, Italy and Czech Republic are set to take on the winners of the previous fixtures.
Each matchup will be a best-of-three series with two singles matches and one doubles match. Formerly known as the Fed Cup, the competition was rebranded in 2020 after former tennis star Billie Jean King.
The competition concludes on 20 November, while the Davis Cup will be played on 19–24 November, with all matches taking place at the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpeña in Málaga.
