The U.S. Billie Jean King Cup team's road to a record-extending 19th title begins this week in Delray Beach, Fla. against Austria.
The two teams will play Friday and Saturday at the Delray Beach Tennis Center, both bidding for a golden ticket: a berth in November's Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals. Captain Kathy Rinaldi's team consists of Top 10 stars Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, both south Florida residents, and is rounded out with Danielle Collins, Sofia Kenin and Caty McNally.
Tickets are still available for one or both days of the tie, which consists of four singles and a doubles match, and will air live on Tennis Channel beginning at 6 p.m. EDT on Friday.
Click here to purchase Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier tickets on Ticketmaster
Here's all you need to know about Rinaldi's team and the tie, by the numbers.
19: This is the first meeting between the two countries in Billie Jean King Cup in 19 years. In 2004, former Top 10 player, and Austria's most prolific star, Barbara Schett led the home side to a 4-1 upset of the U.S. in the World Group quarterfinals in Innsbruck. They haven't played since then.
7: The U.S. is 7-2 all-time against Austria in Billie Jean King Cup play dating back to the first meeting between the two countries in 1977.
2: In this tie, the U.S. is led by its two Top 10-ranked singles players: Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. Pegula enters as either side's top player as world No. 3 in singles, with Gauff right being her at world No. 6.
3: Though she's been a mainstay in the Top 10 over the last year, Pegula is contesting only her third Billie Jean King Cup tie this week. She starred for the U.S. side in last year's Qualifier, but was forced to withdraw from the Finals last fall.
Photo by Manuela Davies/USTA.
0: Gauff will be bidding for her first-ever Billie Jean King Cup singles win this weekend, as she, like Pegula, is also only playing for the third time. After being nominated, but not playing, in the 2020 Qualifier, Gauff played in both of the U.S.'s round-robin ties at last year's Finals. She and McNally were winners in doubles against Poland, but she lost her lone singles match to Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic.
5: This is the fifth career Billie Jean King Cup nomination for both Danielle Collins and Sofia Kenin on the U.S. team. 2021 Australian Open finalist Collins is 5-1 in her career in the competition in singles, having won her first five matches, while Kenin posted all three of her wins in her last appearance in the 2020 qualifying round.
Read more at usta.com: Billie Jean King Cup team call-up is latest 'baby step' in Sofia Kenin's comeback
Photo by Manuela Davies/USTA.
23: Aside from Gauff and Pegula, who also boast Top 10 rankings in doubles, McNally is the U.S.'s most prolific doubles player at world No. 23. A two-time major finalist in doubles, McNally is making her second straight Billie Jean King Cup appearance after debuting last fall in the Finals, played in Glasgow, Scotland.
3: Since the Billie Jean King Cup transitioned from its historic World Group format to its new Qualifier-to-Finals format, the U.S. is 2-0 in this round and is bidding for a third win this weekend. The team beat Latvia 3-2 in Everett, Wash. in 2020, and Ukraine by the same overall score in Asheville, N.C. last year.
78: The Austrians' highest-ranking player is world No. 78 Julia Grabher. A 26-year-old from Dornbirn, Grabher just reaced the third round of the Credit One Charleston Open last week; there, she beat world No. 28 Zhang Shuai of China for her second career win over a player ranked in the Top 30.
153: After Grabher, the rest of Austria's roster sits outside the WTA's Top 150. The country's No. 2 is 20-year-old No. 153 Sinja Kraus.
26: The visitors do have a former Top 30 player in Tamira Paszek. Paszek, now 32, reached a perch of No. 26 in 2013, and boasts two career quarterfinals at Wimbledon on her resume (2011, 2012).
7: The U.S. is ranked No. 7 in the Billie Jean King Cup rankings behind Australia, Switzerland, Spain, the Czech Republic, France and Canada. Austria is ranked 30th.
1: Rinaldi and Austria captain Marion Maruska, a former world No. 50, played once in their own careers on tour. Maruska was a 6-4, 6-1 winner against Rinaldi in Indian Wells in 1996. In addition, Maruska was a member of Austria's 2002 team that were 3-2 winners against the U.S. in the World Group first round.
The 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier between the U.S. and Austria will air live on Tennis Channel on both Friday and Saturday. Play begins at 6 p.m. EDT Friday and 2 p.m. EDT on Saturday. For more from the tie, visit the USTA's Billie Jean King Cup homepage.
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