The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has announced that the women’s tennis Fed Cup tournament will be relaunched with a new format and new finals event.
A “World Cup of Tennis” format will see the number of nations increase from eight to 20 and they will compete each year to be world champions.
According to the official news release 16 nations will compete in the 2020 qualifiers on 7-8 February on a home-and-away basis over five matches to earn one of eight places in the finals.
The eight qualifying nations will join the 2019 finalists Australia and France, host nation Hungary and one wild card in the 2020 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Finals – a new event that will be held from 14-19 April 2020 in Budapest, Hungary.
The finals will be staged at the Laszlo Papp Budapest Sports Arena for a three-year term – from 2020 to 2022.
David Haggerty, ITF president, said: “The launch of the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Finals will create a festival of tennis that elevates this flagship women’s team competition to a new level, yet remains loyal to the historic core of the Fed Cup.
“We have consulted and listened to stakeholders and worked with the WTA and its Player Council to make sure the new format represents the interests of the players.
“We pledged to our national associations during the 2018 AGM that we would introduce reforms that will grow the competition’s global audience and enable greater investment into the future of the sport. We believe this bold new Fed Cup format delivers this pledge.”
🌎🌍🌏 16-team home-and-away Qualifiers
🇦🇺🆚🇫🇷 Two 2019 finalists
🇭🇺 One host nation
🃏 One wild card20 nations will be chasing #FedCup glory in 2020 🏆
Find out more ➡️ https://t.co/QHbff475gK#FedCupFinals #RoadtoBudapest pic.twitter.com/0xEh9CgKOb
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) June 27, 2019
2020 Fed Cup Finals
- When: 14-19 April 2020
- Where: Laszlo Papp Budapest Sports Arena, Budapest, Hungary
Image: fedcup.com