Billie Jean King Cup Finals 2021 rescheduled amidst health and safety concerns due to pandemic New dates in 2021 will be announced shortly Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Play-off ties will take place in April as scheduledThe International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the Hungarian National Sports Agency (NSA) have today announced that the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Finals, due to take place on 13-18 April 2021, will be rescheduled to later dates in 2021.
Extensive work has been undertaken to prepare for the event in April in compliance with national health regulations and with strict Covid-19 protocols in place. Several scenarios have been under review, which include playing behind closed doors. However, continued uncertainty and the challenges due to the Covid-19 virus, locally and internationally, have made it unfeasible to host a world cup team competition of this scale indoors in Budapest on the scheduled dates.
The newly baptised Billie Jean King Cup Finals will see the world's 12 best national teams competing over one week to be crowned world champions. The event involves over 60 athletes, their support teams, officials, and event staff. The decision to reschedule is to protect the health and safety of all participants and the fans, and to ensure the delivery of an outstanding tennis event in safe conditions for those attending later in 2021.
ITF President, David Haggerty said: "Everyone involved in this competition hoped that we would not be in this position, but unfortunately the Covid-19 situation remains serious and restricting. Health and safety comes first. Together with the NSA, and in consultation with the WTA, we are in the process of finalising new dates. We continue to work our hardest to deliver a spectacular Finals event in 2021 and, like the players and fans, as well as Billie Jean herself, we are all looking forward to a memorable Billie Jean King Cup Finals later in the year."
The Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Play-off ties, which will be played on a home-and-away basis, will proceed as announced by the host nations on 16-17 April 2021 and can be viewed here: Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Play-offs
As a service to our readers, Around the Rings will provide verbatim texts of selected press releases issued by Olympic-related organizations, federations, businesses and sponsors.
These press releases appear as sent to Around the Rings and are not edited for spelling, grammar or punctuation.
25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only
Recent Articles
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
