Andy Schooler brings you his team-by-team preview and best bets for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, which get under way in Glasgow on Tuesday.
Tennis betting tips: Billie Jean King Cup Finals
2pts win Czech Republic at 9/2 (Sky Bet)
1pt e.w. Kazakhstan at 8/1 (Sky Bet 1/3 1-2)
Billie Jean King Cup Finals
- Glasgow, Scotland (indoor hard)
The women’s tennis season comes to an end this week when Glasgow’s Emirates Arena plays host to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Or to use the International Tennis Federation’s tag, ‘the World Cup of Tennis’.
Sadly, at least from a sporting perspective, the defending champions, Russia, won’t be in attendance and neither will Belarus, another strong team.
Somewhat controversially, Great Britain will be. These days the ITF allows the hosts a wild card, clearly for commercial reasons, although this year it looks particularly awkward in terms of sporing integrity given GB lost in the qualifiers back in April.
And the shambolic scheduling, which sees this event begin around six hours after the WTA Finals in Texas conclude, means the tournament is also denied the presence of world number one Iga Swiatek, who felt unable to commit to both.
That’s enough negativity though.
There are many good players still present, including Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and American teenage star Coco Gauff, while most ties look likely to be highly competitive.
The format is a decent one and worked well at last year’s inaugural Finals in Prague.
The 12 nations are split into four groups of three, which will be contested from Tuesday to Friday, with the winner of each progressing to the weekend’s semi-finals.
They will play on a Rebound Ace surface which has been described by Italy captain Tathiana Garbin as “rather fast”, although Poland skipper Dawid Celt highlighted that the Centre Court, on which most ties are scheduled, is “much slower” than the others. That may change once the fans come in to warm things up.
Let’s take a look at the contenders by group…
GROUP A
Switzerland
- Team: Belinda Bencic, Jil Teichmann, Viktorija Golubic, Simona Waltert
- Best odds: 6/1
Made the final 12 months ago but neither world number 13 Bencic nor Teichmann has the form they did back then. The latter holds an impressive 7-1 record in this competition though and they should not be ruled out in what isn’t the strongest group.
Canada
- Team: Leylah Fernandez, Bianca Andreescu, Gabriela Dabrowski, Rebecca Marino, Carol Zhao
- Best odds: 6/1
Canada boast two top-50 singles players, one a former Grand Slam champion (Andreescu) and the other a Grand Slam finalist (Fernandez). For doubles, they also have a top-10 star in Dabrowski, who has just played at the WTA Finals. With Canada’s first match not until Thursday, she should get time to adapt too. If Canada play towards their best levels, they should win this group.
Italy
- Team: Martina Trevisan, Lucia Bronzetti, Jasmine Paolini, Elisabetta Cocciaretto
- Best odds: 20/1
Italy would much prefer to be playing on clay, the surface on which Trevisan has built her top-30 position. Bronzetti hasn’t won a tour-level match on a hardcourt since March but at least Paolini is in good form. She was runner-up at the WTA event in Cluj last month indoors, while she’s since won an ITF title outdoors. With the experienced Camila Giorgi out injured, Paolini looks key to Italy’s hopes.
Group verdict
I’d expect Canada to win this but the Swiss rose to the occasion 12 months ago and won’t go down without a fight. It’s hard to see Italy progressing.
GROUP B
Australia
- Team: Ajla Tomljanovic, Priscilla Hon, Storm Sanders, Ellen Perez, Sam Stosur
- Best odds: 16/1
With Daria Saville not involved, the Aussies look rather reliant on Tomljanovic in singles. She enjoyed a good summer swing, reaching the US Open quarter-finals, but has done little since. Sanders and Perez are both good doubles players though, as is Stosur, and that could be vital in their ties.
Slovakia
- Team: Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Viktoria Kuzmova, Rebecca Sramkova, Tereza Mihalikova, Renata Jamrichova
- Best odds: 25/1
Schmiedlova, a former top-30 player, made a final in Trnava recently on the ITF World Tour but the fact I’m highlighting that shows the Slovaks’ problem – their players have largely operated at second-tier level in 2022. It’s difficult to see them having enough quality to progress out of this group.
Belgium
- Team: Elise Mertens, Alison van Uytvanck, Maryna Zanevska, Ysaline Bonaventure, Kirsten Flipkens
- Best odds: 20/1
The Belgians have potential. Mertens has slipped down the singles rankings but won a WTA title in Monastir recently, while she remains top-10 in doubles. The latter could be a problem here though as she was still at the WTA Finals on Monday night; Belgium play their opener in Glasgow on Wednesday. With Van Uytvanck and Flipkens having not played for months, Zanevska and Bonaventure could well be relied upon – the good news is both have been winning a lot of matches at ITF level of late, the former capturing a WTA 125 title in Rouen, while the latter is 17-5 since the US Open.
Group verdict
This is tricky, largely due to the uncertainty over if/when Belgium’s star player, Mertens, will play. Ideally she’s needed for singles and doubles but I can’t see that happening, at least in their first tie. With good doubles options, Australia look well placed to capitalise.
GROUP C
Spain
- Team: Paula Badosa, Nuria Parrizas Diaz, Cristina Bucsa, Aliona Bolsova, Rebeka Masarova
- Best odds: 10/1
Things don’t look great for Spain, long one of the powerhouses of the female game. Badosa is a fine player but she’s not had a great year and is out of form having won two of her last seven matches. She was also injured last time out in Guadalajara – a late arrival in Glasgow doesn’t suggest she’s 100% either. With Garbine Muguruza and Sara Sorribes Tormo both absent, the back-up looks light. I’d expect Masarova to play singles after a title success at the ITF event in Hamburg but I’m struggling to see them challenging for the title.
Kazakhstan
- Team: Elena Rybakina, Yulia Putintseva, Zhibek Kulambayeva, Anna Danilina
- Best odds: 10/1
I think the Kazakhs could go well. Wimbledon champion Rybkina has ended the season pretty nicely, reaching the semis indoors in Ostrava and the final outdoors in Portoroz. Putintseva is a decent support act – she was a quarter-finalist in Toronto in the summer, albeit form hasn’t been great of late. In Danilina, they also have a strong doubles option. She arrives from the WTA Finals in that format, a group-stage exit arguably a boost to this team.
Great Britain
- Team: Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart, Heather Watson, Alicia Barnett, Olivia Nicholls
- Best odds: 20/1
Home advantage in these team events is always big but GB will likely need it. They are without their star player in Emma Raducanu and both Dart and Boulter will need to find their best level if the hosts are to progress. They do have a specialist doubles team in Barnett and Nicholls, although captain Anne Keothavong has preferred to choose star singles players in that format when it has come to the crunch in the past.
Group verdict
While all three teams have a shot at reaching the semis, Kazakhstan look best placed to do so. Badosa’s form and fitness looks a worry for Spain, who may well struggle if she’s not churning out the wins. Home advantage will help GB but they look short on real quality.
GROUP D
Czech Republic
- Team: Barbora Krejcikova, Karolina Pliskova, Katerina Siniakova, Marketa Vondrousova
- Best odds: 9/2
The top-ranked Czech, Petra Kvitova, won’t be in Glasgow which is a blow given her propensity for indoor conditions, but it’s far from an insurmountable one. Krejcikova is in fine form having won WTA singles titles indoors in Ostrava (where she beat Swiatek) and Tallinn in recent weeks. She’s also one of the best doubles players in the world – she and Siniakova have won three of the four Grand Slams in 2022 and the pair look a banker in doubles this week which could prove decisive. Fatigue is the only worry – the duo were still in Texas on Monday playing at the WTA Finals, although at least the Czechs don’t start in Glasgow until Thursday night. Vondrousova winning an ITF title in Shrewsbury last week is an added bonus.
USA
- Team: Coco Gauff, Danielle Collins, Madison Keys, Taylor Townsend, Caty McNally
- Best odds: 9/4
The late withdrawal of Jessica Pegula is a setback for the US, both in singles and doubles – she had been expected to team up with regular tour partner Coco Gauff in the latter. Gauff described her past week at the WTA Finals as “rough”, adding her level stayed “stagnant” which is a concern but the US have good depth, particularly in singles with Keys and Collins both ranked in the top 15. USA’s clash with the Czechs will be all-important in this pool.
Poland
- Team: Magda Linette, Magdalena Frech, Katarzyna Kawa, Alicja Rosolska, Martyna Kubka
- Best odds: 30/1
With Swiatek having opted out, Poland look to have little chance in the toughest of groups. Linette has been in decent form, making a WTA final in Chennai, but her opponents in Glasgow are likely to be at a much higher level than in India. You have to fear for the Poles.
Group verdict
There are two very strong teams in this group and there won’t be much between the USA and Czech Republic. However, the US have struggled away from home in the past and with the Czechs having a great record in this competition – they have won six of the last 10 editions – they may just have the edge.
OVERALL VERDICT
The draw looks rather lopsided with the two favourites – USA and CZECH REPUBLIC – both in the same group.
Their Group D tie on Friday evening will have a final feel to it and the winner looks to have a great chance of going all the way.
The withdrawal of Pegula from the US side is certainly a blow to US hopes and makes the Czech odds of 9/2 even more appealing.
With Krejcikova in form and her and Siniakova the world’s best doubles team by a distance, I can’t have them at twice the price of the Americans.
Fatigue is the obvious worry due to those WTA Finals only finishing in Texas on Monday night but the Czechs don’t play until Thursday evening in Glasgow and that tie is against the weak Poles.
With that factor taken into account, I’m still happy to back them to win this event for the seventh time in the last 11 stagings.
With Group D’s winner facing the team progressing from Group A, there looks some each-way potential for punters in the two other groups from which the other finalist will emerge.
I give KAZAKHSTAN the nod here.
Wimbledon queen Rybakina has finished the season strongly, while Putintseva is a feisty fighter who offers a decent back-up in singles. They also have a top-10 doubles player in their squad.
Whoever emerges from this side of the draw will also benefit from the schedule.
If the other finalist is either USA or the Czechs, they will have played at (not before) 1630 on Friday, 1600 on Saturday before the final at 1400 on Sunday.
That’s a tough schedule, particularly if ties go long.
In contrast, the winners of Groups B and C both get Friday off to prepare before playing in the first semi-final.
That makes the win part of the bet a bit more appealing than it might, at first, seem.
I’ll back the Kazakhs each way at 8/1 with Sky Bet. BetVictor go 10s but their market is win only.
Published at 1520 GMT on 07/11/22
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