The Billie Jean King Cup in numbers
16/10/2023 12:59
The countdown is on to the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals in Seville, which will play host to national pride, team camerarderie and showstopping tennis by the bucketload. Here's a look at the numbers that matter in the build-up to the women's World Cup of Tennis
By Kevin Palmer
The countdown is on to the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals in Seville, with the stars of the 2023 competition looking to join the list of greats who have created iconic moments in the ultimate team competition in women's tennis.
Some of the biggest names in the sport have helped to make the Billie Jean King Cup the event it is today and here are some of the numbers that matter most:
1 - Defending champions Switzerland head into the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Seville as the No. 1 ranked nation, after they knocked Australia off the top spot in April.
3 - Canada's Leylah Fernandez has a flawless 3-0 record in doubles in the Billie Jean King Cup.
6 - Czechia's Petr Pala holds the record for the most titles won as a captain, with the most recent of his six wins coming in 2018.
7 - An inspired USA team won seven successive titles between 1976 and 1982, which is a record that may never be broken.
8 - Australia appeared in 8 consecutive finals between 1973 and 1980, but won just two of those. The 7-time champions have lost their last 9 appearances in the Billie Jean King Cup Final - including their defeats between 1975-1980 and in 1993, 2019 and 2022.
11 - Czechia are the second most successful nation in the competition. They have lifted the trophy on 11 occasions, most recently in 2018.
12 - Greece's Denise Panagopoulou holds the record as the youngest player to play in this competition after appearing in 1977 at the age of 12 years and 360 days.
12 - Switzerland became the 12th nation to win the Billie Jean King Cup last November and they were also the first new champion nation since Italy in 2006.
14 - Serena Williams had an almost flawless singles record in the competition, winning 14 times before losing against Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova in her final appearance in 2020.
16 - The first edition of this competition in 1963 saw 16 nations compete, with players paying their own expenses and not receiving any payment for taking part.
17 - Yulia Putinseva is Kazakhstan's most successful singles player in Billie Jean King Cup history, winning 17 of her 28 matches.
18 - The record number of times USA has lifted the title, with their most recent win coming in 2017.
19 - Slovenia's most successful singles player in Billie Jean King Cup history is Katarina Srebotnik, who won 19 times. She also added 34 wins in doubles.
20 - Germany's Steffi Graf lost just two singles matches from 22 played in this competition.
30 - Amelie Mauresmo won more singles matches for France in this competition than any player, winning 30 times and lifting the trophy in 2003.
40 - USA's Chris Evert had a hugely impressive singles record in the Billie Jean King Cup, winning 40 matches and losing just two. She was a winner in this competition a record eight times.
42 - Agnieszka Radwanska holds the Polish record for wins in the competition after claiming 42 victories in singles and doubles.
48 - A total of 56 players were selected to compete for their nations at the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Glasgow and 48 played at least one match.
52 - Gill Butterfield was the oldest player to compete in the competition, appearing for Bermuda aged 52 years, 162 days against Jamaica in 1996.
56 - Billie Jean King played 56 matches over 35 ties for the USA during her remarkable career in this competition, losing just four times. She was a winner in this competition on seven occasions.
74 - Anne Kremer has played in more Billie Jean King Cup ties than any other player, with her total of 74 seeing her piece together 61 wins. She played her last match in the competition against Bulgaria in 2014.
100 - Spain's Arantxa Sanchez Vicario holds the record for most ties played, competing in 100 matches across 58 ties and winning 72 of them. She also holds the record for the number of singles wins in the competition at 50.
162 - France beat Japan 4-1 in a closely contested 1997 World Group match that contained 162 games, a record for the competition.
