Billie Jean King Cup Group D: Dates, schedule, format & more

Australia lost at the quarter-final stage of the Billie Jean King Cup last year and begin their bid to at least emulate that feat when they face Kazakhstan and Colombia in the home comforts of Brisbane.

The Aussies were ousted 2-0 by Slovakia in 2024, with both Kimberly Birrell and Alja Tomljanovic losing their singles matches to mean that there was no need to play the doubles rubber.

As fifth seeds in the competition Australia will be expected to make no mistake on outdoor hard courts of the Pat Rafter Arena, but Kazakhstan in particular represent a major challenge, with their team led by former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

Colombia also cannot be underestimated, having beaten France 3-2 in a play-off last November to secure their place in this qualifying round.

Aussie captain Sam Stosur has named Birrell, Maya Joint, Tomljanovic, Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez as her five team members.

Billie Jean King Cup Group D dates

Group D of the qualifying round of the Billie Jean King Cup takes place between Thursday 10th April and Saturday 12th April.

Australia are scheduled to play Kazakhstan on Thursday and Colombia on Saturday.

Billie Jean King Cup Group D venue

Group D of the qualifying round of the Billie Jean King Cup is being staged at the Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane, Queensland, which can seat up to 7,000 spectators.

The venue has been used for the Brisbane International in January of each year since 2009, with that tournament one of the main build-up events to the Australian Open.

Australia have played four Fed Cup or BJK Cup matches there previously, losing to both Germany and United States before defeating Belarus and Mexico.

Billie Jean King Cup Group D how to watch

Group D of the Billie Jean King Cup is available to watch for Australian viewers to watch on the Nine Network and can also be streamed on 9Now.

Billie Jean King Cup Group D format

In Group D each of the three teams play each other once, with the country finishing top of the table progressing to the last eight along with five other group winners, Finals hosts China and holders Italy.

The Group standings are decided by ties won, then matches won, sets won and games won if further tiebreakers are required.

The team line-ups are as follows:
Australia: Kimberly Birrell, Maya Joint, Ajla Tomljanovic, Storm Hunter, Ellen Perez.
Kazakhstan: Elena Rybakina, Yulia Putintseva, Zhibek Kulambayeva, Zarina Diyas, Anna Danilina.
Colombia: Camila Osorio, Emiliana Arango, Yuliana Lizarazo, Paulina Perez.

Billie Jean King Cup history

The Billie Jean King Cup was first played back in 1963 and was known as the Federation Cup or Fed Cup until 2021, when it was renamed in honour of one of the greatest players of all-time.

Italy lifted the trophy for the fifth time in their history in 2024, becoming the seventh different winner in the last seven stagings of the competition.

Australia lost to Switzerland in the 2022 final and to France in 2019 and have been beaten in 12 finals in total.

The Aussies dominated the competition in its early days, winning the title seven times in the first 12 years of the tournament, with the last of those titles coming back in 1974.