World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and world No. 6 Coco Gauff are out of Poland and the United States’ respective squads for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, which will take place from November 13-20 November in Malaga, Spain.

The 12 teams in the event announced their line-ups on Monday, with U.S. Open finalist Jessica Pegula leading Team USA. Emma Navarro, a semifinalist in that tournament and current world No. 8, is also out of the American squad. The year-end WTA Finals, which will take place between November 2 and 9 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, create a tight schedule for the top eight women’s players who qualify.

In a 2023 Instagram post announcing her decision to skip the BJK Cup, Swiatek described having to travel from Cancun, Mexico to Glasgow, Scotland in a 12-hour window as “not safe for our health.” She won that year’s WTA Finals, thrashing Pegula in the final.

Swiatek is already qualified for this year’s event in Saudi Arabia with Gauff in the frame to join her, alongside Navarro — if her strong season continues. Even Pegula, who rose to No. 5 in the ranking points ‘race’ to the event by reaching the final in New York, could be in contention to play in Riyadh. Her qualification could also see her withdraw from the BJK Cup.

Barbora Krejcikova, the Wimbledon champion, will not represent the Czech Republic. Krejcikova is eligible for a place in Saudi Arabia thanks to her winning the third major of the year, even if she does not finish inside the top eight players by ranking points accrued in 2024.

Four-time major winner and former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka headlines Japan’s squad, with 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu representing Canada alongside 2021 U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez. Emma Raducanu, who beat Fernandez to win that U.S. Open title, will play for Great Britain, while two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini will represent Italy alongside Sara Errani, fresh from the pair winning the Paris 2024 Olympic gold in women’s doubles. Another U.S. Open semifinalist, Karolina Muchova, will represent the Czech Republic.

Former world No. 2 and resurgent Paula Badosa leads Spain’s team, Olympic semifinalist Anna Karolina Schmiedlova will play for Slovakia, Magdalena Fręch will represent Poland —fresh off her first WTA Tour title in Guadalajara — Mexico and Olivia Gadecki, beaten finalist there, will play for Australia.

GO DEEPER

Saudi Arabia complete deal to host WTA Finals: The background, the backlash and the money

Twelve teams are participating in total: 2023 winners Canada and runners-up Italy; Spain as hosts and wildcard entry the Czech Republic. The other eight teams — Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the USA — qualified earlier this year.

The BJK Cup Finals will cross over with the Davis Cup Finals, also to be held in Malaga, between 19 and 24 November.

‘Authorities should think about how jam-packed the schedule is’

Analysis by tennis writer Charlie Eccleshare

Given Swiatek’s recent comments about how demanding the tennis schedule is and the need for change, her non-participation does not come as a huge surprise. Though players deciding to skip significant events should still give the tennis authorities pause for thought about how jam-packed the schedule is.

And while there will be star quality in Malaga, with the likes of Osaka, Collins and Pegula all signed up, losing some of the sport’s biggest names is a shame. Especially for an event like the BJK Cup which, like the Davis Cup, is in a constant battle to stay relevant as the demands on the players only increase every year.

For Swiatek and Gauff, it will be interesting to see how they approach the rest of the year after, in different ways, challenging summers. Gauff has been largely out of sorts since losing in the French Open semifinal three months ago, while Swiatek has had better results but appeared burnt out in her defeat by Pegula in the U.S. Open quarters two weeks ago. Swiatek dismissed the idea of taking a proper break following that loss.

But skipping the BJK Cup finals means she and Gauff will have at least something approaching a proper off-season ahead of the Australian summer swing kicking off at the end of December. Almost every player would feel that deep down they would benefit physically and mentally from that kind of break, and so it seems a shame that the only way to do that is to skip an important event like the BJK Cup finals.

Full Billie Jean King Cup Finals squads by nation

Canada

Leylah Fernandez
Marina Stakusic
Rebecca Marino
Bianca Andreescu
Gabriela Dabrowski
Captain: Heidi El Tabakh

Italy

Spain

Paula Badosa Gibert
Jessica Bouzas Maneiro
Cristina Bucsa
Nuria Parrizas Diaz
Sara Sorribes Tormo
Captain: Anabel Medina Garrigues

Czech Republic

Linda Noskova
Katerina Siniakova
Marie Bouzkova
Karolina Muchova
Captain: Petr Pala

Australia

Olivia Gadecki
Daria Saville
Ajla Tomljanovic
Ellen Perez
Captain: Samantha Stosur

Germany

Tatjana Maria
Jule Niemeier
Laura Siegemund
Eva Lys
Captain: Rainer Schüttler

Great Britain

Katie Boulter
Emma Raducanu
Harriet Dart
Heather Watson
Olivia Nicholls
Captain: Anne Keothavong

Japan

Moyuka Uchijima
Naomi Osaka
Nao Hibino
Eri Hozumi
Shuko Aoyama
Captain: Ai Sugiyama

Osaka headlines Japan’s squad (Luke Hales/Getty Images)

Poland

Magdalena Fręch
Magda Linette
Maja Chwalińska
Katarzyna Kawa
Captain: Dawid Celt

Romania

Jaqueline Adina Cristian
Ana Bogdan
Elena Gabriela Ruse
Alexia Anca Todoni
Monica Niculescu
Captain: Horia Tecau

Slovakia

Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
Rebecca Sramkova
Viktoria Hruncakova
Renata Jamrichova
Tereza Mihalikova
Captain: Matej Liptak

USA

Jessica Pegula
Danielle Collins
Caroline Dolehide
Taylor Townsend
Peyton Stearns
Captain: Lindsay Davenport

(Top photos of Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff: Getty Images)