Glasgow to host Billie Jean King Cup 2022 finale in November
text_fieldsThe 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Finals will be hosted by Great Britain's Lawn Tennis Association, said the International Tennis Federation. The final matches will be played on indoor hard courts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, from November 8 to 13.
Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Kazakhstan, Poland, Spain, Slovakia, Switzerland, and the USA will be competing in the Finals to become 2022 world champions. The UK will join them as the host nation. These 12 countries will play in four round-robin groups of three nations. Each group winner will qualify for the semi-finals.
British Billie Jean King Cup captain Anne Keothavong called it a "fantastic opportunity" to build the profile of women's tennis and focus attention on women's sport. She added that the entire team is excited to play in front of a home crowd.
This is the fourth time the UK is hosting the Finals of the largest annual international team competition in women's sport. When the first event was held at London's Queen's Cub in 1963, Billie Jean King herself was playing in the winning US team. The matches were again held in Eastbourne in 1977 and Nottingham in 1991.
The Lawn Tennis Association will be using the Finals to promote women's sports and encourage more girls to play tennis. The event will raise awareness of tennis as the most established mixed-gender sport. The International Tennis Federation's Advantage All strategy is also moving towards the same goal.
ITF President David Haggerty said the organisation is delighted to bring the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Finals to Glasgow as the LTA presented a very impressive bid. LTA has already hosted Davis Cup ties in Glasgow. "We look forward to having the women's World Cup of Tennis take place in front of passionate tennis fans from around the world in an electric atmosphere, at the culmination of the women's tennis season," said ITF.