“I will never forget that”: Tennis legend Billie Jean King (79) is a fan of Switzerland

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In Seville, the Swiss team makes no secret of the fact that they once again have big plans for the final of the Billie Jean King Cup this year. “Of course, we want the title again,” says captain Heinz Günthardt (64). And the in-form Viktorija Golubic (31) says: “We have proven enough times that we can outgrow ourselves.”

In 2021, the Swiss women reached the final, and in 2022 they finally achieved their first victory in the BJK Cup, which until 2020 was called the Fed Cup and is the counterpart of the men’s Davis Cup. The passion that the Swiss showed in both years made a deep impression on tennis legend and tournament namesake Billie Jean King (79). She explained this during a media round prior to the final in Andalusia.

“How the Swiss, in the first year after the defeat against Russia, said to themselves: ‘Next year we’ll get this thing’ – and then they actually did it. That was incredible, I will never forget it,” said the twelve-time Grand Slam winner and pioneer in the field of women’s rights. “You could really see how excited they were about this trophy,” enthuses King: “It was so nice to see their joy after winning! That is the point.”

King believes that with this passion and good team spirit, the Swiss can play an important role again this year. From a sporting point of view, Switzerland is as much of a surprise as its opponents. The Czech Republic awaits on Tuesday (4 p.m.), which will be without French Open finalist Karolina Muchova (27). The match against the USA will follow on Thursday, who will have to do without US Open winner Coco Gauff (19) and number five in the world Jessica Pegula (29).

And the Swiss women? It is still unclear whether pregnant team leader Belinda Bencic (26) will intervene in Seville. Captain Günthardt does not have to announce his starters until Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. One thing is clear: Billie Jean King will certainly be keeping an eye on the Swiss performance.

Source : Blick