BJKC Qualies Tormented by Withdrawals
The Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers week was not expected to impress with a stellar line-up, as we already reported after the official squad reveal a few weeks ago → link to the article.
However, the last few days have brought the withdrawals of some notable names who were expected to be the leading forces of their national teams. In some cases, this also changes the dynamics of the chances for particular groups just before the event.
Jessica Pegula was about to lead the USA as the highest-ranked player in the entire qualifiers field, alongside Danielle Collins and McCartney Kessler. All three have withdrawn from the event, being replaced by Alycia Parks, Bernarda Pera, and Hailey Baptiste. It's quite an experimental squad, as none of those players are in the top 10 American players listed in the WTA rankings. This significantly changes the pre-match odds for Group C held in Bratislava. The hosts have set up the strongest line-up led by Rebecca Sramkova, who made a sensational run to the title match of last year's final in Malaga. Slovakia's other opponents are also extremely weakened before the tie, as their absolute leader Clara Tauson withdrew due to injury, and none of the young players representing Denmark have any significant experience at the WTA level going into this event.
Group D, hosted by Australia on hard courts in Brisbane, will feature the only world top 10 player this weekend, as Elena Rybakina leads one of the strongest squads of the entire qualifiers together with Yulia Putintseva. The fight for a place in the finals should be decided between the Kazakhs and the hosts, as the Colombians are missing their only two known weapons — Camila Osorio, who won the WTA 250 event in Bogota last week, and Emiliana Arango — the runner-up of the WTA 500 in Monterrey — both have withdrawn from the long journey to Australia.
The biggest change in the favorites' role appears in Group E. Ukraine is sending a very strong squad to Poland’s Radom, led by Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk, and two doubles specialists — Lyudmyla and Nadia Kichenok. This highly rated and balanced squad will be the one to beat for Poland and Switzerland, who both lack their best players. Poland was already set to compete without Iga Swiatek, but now also needs to compensate for the absence of the injured Magdalena Frech. Magda Linette and the sensational Bogota runner-up Katarzyna Kawa will try to keep up with the pace of the Ukrainians, while Switzerland is expected to struggle after the huge loss caused by Belinda Bencic’s withdrawal.
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2025 Line-up Changes
Qinwen Zheng, Paula Badosa, and Barbora Krejcikova have withdrawn from the WTA 500 tournament in Stuttgart scheduled for next week. Badosa and Krejcikova are struggling with lingering injuries. However, while Badosa hopes to return for her home event in Madrid, Krejcikova’s clay campaign this year is much in doubt. Marta Kostyuk capitalizes on the changes in the main draw line-up. The Ukrainian — last year’s sensational runner-up — initially missed the cut-off by a narrow margin. Now, Kostyuk gets a chance to replicate her great 2024 run and defend a bunch of ranking points with a direct entry into the main draw.
Three home representatives join Eva Lys as recipients of wild cards to compete in the main draw. Two very experienced players — WTA No. 81 Tatjana Maria and No. 95 Laura Siegemund — and 25-year-old Jule Niemeier, currently ranked 120th in the world. The main draw matches in Stuttgart start next Monday, preceded by two days of qualifying action over the weekend at the Porsche Arena venue.
Entry Lists for Madrid and Rome Are Out
Just after the indoor action in Stuttgart, the tour continues with two traditional back-to-back WTA 1000 events in Madrid and Rome. The entry lists for both are already revealed — including the 75 direct entries, with the cut-off set at 71st place in the rankings — and four players using a protected ranking spot: Petra Kvitova, Sorana Cirstea, Bianca Andreescu, and Anastasija Sevastova. As of now, there are no official withdrawals from these tournaments. However, with a few weeks still remaining, the lists may vary slightly. Both WTA 1000s are planned for two weeks each — the Mutua Madrid Open will take place between April 21st and May 4th, while the Internazionali d’Italia is scheduled for May 6th to 18th.
WTA 1000 Madrid entry list → LINK
WTA 1000 Rome entry list → LINK
