Holders Italy will begin BJK Cup defence against China

PARIS: Italy will get their defence of the Billie Jean King Cup underway with a quarter-final against hosts China in September, following the draw in Shenzhen on Monday.

If they win that one, Jasmine Paolini´s team, who won their fifth title in the women´s team event last year by defeating Slovakia in the final in Malaga, will face Ukraine or Spain in the semi-finals. On the other side of the draw, the quarter-finals will pit the United States against Kazakhstan and Japan against Great Britain.

Shenzhen is hosting the finals, which have been brought forward from November, for the first time and will do so until at least 2027. The event has been reduced from 12 teams to eight, aligning with the men´s Davis Cup finals. The BJK finals get under way on September 16, with the final to be played on September 21.