Glasgow named as host for Billie Jean King Cup finals

Glasgow is to host the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup later this year as the competition returns to Great Britain for the first time since 1991.

The competition, previously known as the Federation Cup and then the Fed Cup, will be staged at the Emirates Arena between November 8 and 13.

Great Britain were beaten by the Czech Republic in April’s qualifiers but, as hosts, will compete alongside the 11 other teams in the finals. It is a second major event for the Scottish city, which is also hosting group D of the Davis Cup in September.

“This is an amazing opportunity to build the profile of women’s tennis and focus attention on women’s sport,” said Great Britain captain Anne Keothavong.

“The entire team are thrilled about playing in front of a home crowd and hearing some loud support across the whole week.”

Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Italy, Kazakhstan, Poland, Spain, Slovakia, Switzerland and the United States are the other teams who will compete in four round-robin groups of three, with the group winners qualifying for semi-finals.

“We have said that we were ambitious to bring more major events to Great Britain and raise the profile of tennis across the whole year, and I’m delighted that Glasgow will be hosting the Billie Jean King Cup Finals as well as the Davis Cup Finals group stage this year,” said Lawn Tennis Association chief executive Scott Lloyd.

“This gives us a great chance to open up tennis to more people, and create special memories that we hope will inspire the next generation of players.”