The US Open champion Cori Coco Gauff (USA) has been left out of her country’s squad for the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup women’s team tennis tournament, while world’s number two Iga Swiatek (Poland) will miss the event for the second consecutive year.
Cori Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, the two highest-ranked American tennis players, are missing from the US squad announced today. Madison Keys, Sofia Kenin, Danielle Collins, Sloane Stephens and Taylor Townsend will play for the US team for the competition in Seville, Spain, between November 7th and 12th.
The biggest team competition in women’s tennis begins just two days after the conclusion of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals in Cancun, Mexico, where the top eight players on the tour will compete, including Cori Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Iga Swiatek.
Last year, Iga Swiatek, who was then the leader in the world rankings, missed the “Billie Jean King Cup” matches in Glasgow (Scotland) because of a similar situation in the calendar. The Polish tennis player said at the time that “the situation is not safe for our health” when players have to travel so far for the 12-team competition organized by the International Tennis Federation just after the WTA Finals. She was left out of the Poland squad announced earlier today.
Cori Coco Gauff announced on Sunday that she is withdrawing from the WTA 500 Zhengzhou Open in China, with a shoulder injury that has bothered her since last week’s loss to Iga Swiatek in Beijing. The race in the Chinese capital was won by Iga Swiatek, which was her fifth title of the year.