Standout stars in Seville: A closer look at the key players at the BJK Cup Finals

With the ultimate prize in team tennis up for grabs at the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals at the Estadio de La Caruja in Seville, Spain on 7-12 November, here are some of the stars who will be taking centre stage

 

Age: 24

Billie Jean King Cup record: 6-3

 

Rybakina is set to be the highest-ranked player at the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals, with the world No. 4 and 2022 Wimbledon champion a potent force when she is representing her country.

 

With six singles wins from the eight matches she has played in this competition, Rybakina played a crucial role in Kazakhstan's victory in the Qualifiers against Poland in April, winning both of her singles matches in impressive fashion.

 

Rybakina's story in 2023 has been a mix of highs and lows, with her run to the Australian Open final in January backed up by wins at the WTA 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Rome, but she has struggled to find her consistency in the second half of the season, with injuries and illness affecting her form.

 

Age: 24 

Billie Jean King Cup record: 12-1

 

The reigning Wimbledon champion has a hugely impressive record in this competition, winning her last nine singles matches, including two victories in the Qualifiers against Ukraine in April.

 

The highlight of Vondrousova's season came at the All England Club in July, as she banished her own doubts about playing on grass by winning her first major title at Wimbledon.

 

She had won only one match at the All England Club in her previous four visits, yet she found her form to beat Ons Jabeur in the final.

 

Age: 30

Billie Jean King Cup record: 21-7

A player who rises to the occasion in the Billie Jean King Cup, Garcia produced two battling wins against Great Britain's Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart to help France secure their place in the Finals in Seville.

 

She was also a star performer for France in the 2019 Billie Jean King Cup Final as she teamed up with Kristina Mladenovic to win the decisive doubles match against Australia in Perth.

 

The finest moment of her singles career came during last year's WTA Finals, as she backed up a run to the US Open semi-finals a few weeks earlier by lifting the end-of-season title in Dallas.

 

 

Age: 28

Billie Jean King Cup record: 6-6

 

With Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula absent, Keys will lead the USA challenge as they look to give outgoing captain Kathy Rinaldi the perfect send-off in Seville.

 

A six-time Grand Slam semi-finalist, the most recent of those appearances in the last four of a major came at the US Open in September, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in a deciding tie-break in the third set. Keys also reached the final of the 2017 US Open, where she lost to Sloane Stephens. 

 

A quarter-finalist at Wimbledon in July, she achieved a career-high ranking of No. 7 in the WTA rankings in 2016.

 

Age: 26

Billie Jean King Cup record: 23-8

 

Switzerland's victory in the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Finals was a showcase for Bencic's consistency, with her straight sets wins in Glasgow against Canada's Leylah Fernandez and Czechia's Karolina Pliskova paving the way for her nation to play Australia in the Final.

 

Then Bencic had the honour of hitting the winning shot to seal the title for Switzerland in the final, as she beat Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic 6-2 6-1.

 

The reigning Olympic champion has been in fine form throughout 2023 as she reached the last-16 in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments and the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 event in Canada.