Nation Rankings Explained

Nation Rankings are officially published after each round of Billie Jean King Cup ties and are based on results over a four-year period, with recent performances weighted more heavily

The system aims to ensure that ranking points are fairly distributed to nations no matter the level of the competition or how many ties a nation plays in a year.

Note that results from 2020 and 2021 count as the same calendar year for the purposes of the rankings due to the competition being held over two years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Definitions

T = Total ranking points for a nation

P(YEAR) = Total ranking points earned by a nation within a specific year

S = Stage points

W = Win bonus

R = Rank bonus

A = Away bonus

Points structure overview

STAGE POINTS (S)

WIN BONUS (W)

RANKING BONUS (R)

AWAY BONUS (A)

Finals – 350

Finals, Final – 50

vs. Rank 1 – 50

Qualifiers – 50

Qualifiers – 250

Finals, Semi-final – 50

vs. Rank 2-5 – 30

Play-offs – 50

Group I – 150

Finals, Quarter-final – 50

vs. Rank 6-10 – 20

Group II – 100

Finals, Round One – 25

vs. Rank 11-20 – 10

Group III – 50

Qualifiers – 100

vs. Rank 21 & below – 0

Group IV – 0

Play-offs – 25

Groups I-IV – Variable, maximum 120 per event

Calculation of future P(YEAR) values

STAGE POINTS (S)

A nation will receive the following points depending on the stage of the competition they start the year in. These points are earned once, at the start of the year.

STAGE OF COMPETITION

STAGE POINTS (S)

Finals

350

Qualifiers

250

Group I

150

Group II

100

Group III

50

Group IV

0

WIN BONUS (W)

Nations will receive a Win Bonus for winning a tie at a specific stage of the competition.

LEVEL OF COMPETITION

WIN BONUS (W)

Finals, Final

50

Finals, Semi-final

50

Finals, Group Stage

25

Qualifiers

100

Play-offs

25

Groups I-IV

Variable, but maximum 120

Many nations will earn several Win Bonuses through the year.

For Regional Group Events, nations are awarded Win Bonus points as per the table below and with a maximum of 120 points per event. The number of ties played includes both round robin and play-off ties.

NUMBER OF TIES PLAYED

WIN BONUS (W)

1 tie

120

2 ties

60

3 ties

40

4 ties

30

5 ties

24

6 ties

20

RANKING BONUS (R)

Nations will receive a ranking bonus for winning a tie based on the opponent’s ranking at the time of the tie.

OPPONENT'S RANKING

RANKING BONUS (R)

1

50

2-5

30

6-10

20

11-20

10

21 & below

0

Nations can potentially earn several Ranking Bonuses, most likely in the Group Stages and Knockout rounds of the Finals.

AWAY BONUS (A)

An Away Bonus of 50 points is awarded to nations winning ties away from home in the Qualifiers and Play-offs.

Calculation total ranking points at year-end

A nation’s total ranking points (T) are the combination of the current single-year rankings points earnt plus the discounted points from the three previous years. So for year Y:

T = Pᵧ + (0.75 × Pᵧ₋₁) + (0.5 × Pᵧ₋₂) + (0.25 × Pᵧ₋₃)

For example, if we were to calculate a nation’s ranking points at the end of 2023:

T = (100% of the points earned in 2023) + (75% of the points earned in 2022) + (50% of the points earned in 2020-21*) + (25% of the points earned in 2019)

*The 2020 competition was played over a two-year period due to the pandemic.

Tied rankings & decimal rounding

If two or more nations have the same number of ranking points then the nation who has played the least amount of ties in the ranking period will assume the higher position. If the nations have played the same number of ties in the ranking period, then they will have a joint ranking.

For administrative purposes, we will continue to round ranking points to two decimal places. For example, ranking points of 426.765 would be rounded to 426.77 and 426.764 would be rounded to 426.76.