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The showdown between Teams United States and Great Britain will wrap up the semifinal stage of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals 2025 on Day 5 (Saturday, September 20). The Americans edged past Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals, beating them 2-1. The Brits pulled through with a 2-0 win against Japan.
The two teams have a long history, having faced each other 10 times in the past. The Americans have the upper hand in this rivalry, winning on nine occasions. The Brits' only win came en route to the final in 1971. Their most recent contest took place in the 1992 edition, which was won by the United States 3-0.
With a spot in the final up for grabs, players will be keen to do their countries proud. On that note, here's a look at the squad members and predictions for all the matches between the United States and Great Britain at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals 2025:
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Billie Jean King Cup Finals 2025: Team Nominations
Team United States: Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, McCartney Kessler, Hailey Baptiste, and Taylor Townsend.
Team Great Britain: Katie Boulter, Francesca Jones, Sonay Kartal, and Jodie Burrage.
#1. Jessica Pegula vs Katie Boulter
Pegula has won three titles this year, one on each surface. She finished as the runner-up at the Miami Open and recently made the semifinals of the US Open, going down to World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on both occasions.
She took to the court for Team USA's quarterfinal tie as well, and lost her singles match against Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina 6-4, 6-1. She made up for it by winning the decisive doubles match with Taylor Townsend to send the Americans into the semifinals.
Boulter hasn't advanced beyond the quarterfinal stage of any WTA tournament this season. She was present for Team Great Britain's quarterfinal tie, scoring a comfortable 6-2, 6-1 win over Japan's Moyuka Uchijima. She improved her record for the season to 13-16 with the win.
Pegula, on the other hand, has a 42-18 record this year. Boulter has won back-to-back matches only twice this year, and just once on hardcourts. She also has a 1-4 record against top 10 players this year, with her only win coming against an injured Paula Badosa at Wimbledon.
However, Boulter won the pair's only prior meeting at the United Cup 2024, staging a comeback to win the match. The Brit was in relatively better form back then, and Pegula should be able to avenge her prior loss this time to seal the deal for her team.
Predicted winner: Jessica Pegula
#2. Emma Navarro vs Sonay Kartal
Navarro has been quite inconsistent this year, notching up a 27-22 record so far. She won the biggest title of her career at the Merida Open, a WTA 500 tournament, though she didn't face anyone in the top 40 en route to victory. She also progressed to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, the fourth round of Wimbledon, and the third round of the US Open.
Navarro's Billie Jean King Cup Finals campaign commenced with a hard-fought 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (6) win against Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva in the quarterfinals. Fourth-round appearances at the Indian Wells Open and Wimbledon are the highlights of Kartal's year so far. She hadn't won a match since her exit from the grass court Major.
Kartal arrived at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals on a four-match losing skid. She resumed her winning ways by beating Japan's Ena Shibahara 6-3, 7-6 (4). She improved to 3-0 in singles matches for Great Britain this year, having won both of her previous ties during the qualifying stage in April.
The two have only contested one match before, that too at the Challenger level. Navarro won that encounter comfortably for the loss of three games. While it won't be that easy this time considering the American's form, she will still be the favorite to beat Kartal.
Predicted winner: Emma Navarro
#3. Taylor Townsend/McCartney Kessler vs Jodie Burrage/Francesca Jones
Should the decisive doubles match come into play, then the Americans will be the favorites to come out on top, thanks to the presence of Townsend. She has established herself as one of the leading doubles players over the past couple of years.
Townsend clinched the top ranking in the discipline a few weeks ago. She also won the Australian Open at the start of the season, and recently finished as the runner-up at the US Open. While she hasn't competed alongside Kessler, she's quick to get in sync with her partner. As mentioned earlier, she sealed the quarterfinal tie against Kazakhstan in her country's favor by winning the doubles match with Pegula.
Neither Burrage nor Jones are top players in doubles. They haven't played together that often before as well. It will require a massive effort on their part to score an upset here. The doubles match is the deciding factor, so to script an upset under pressure will be an uphill battle. Townsend should be able to lead her team to victory in this scenario.
Predicted winners: Taylor Townsend and McCartney Kessler
