The Billie Jean King by BNP Paribas Finals 2022 draw was conducted by Billie Jean King in London on Friday 8th July. In the Finals, which will take place on November 8-13 at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, four Groups of three teams each will compete in the round-robin phase.
The team captained by Anabel Medina and in which the presence of Paula Badosa and Garbiñe Muguruza, among others, is expected, has been framed in Group C along with Kazakhstan, with Elena Rybakina as a great threat, and Great Britain, which will have Emma Raducanu as its main banner.
As only the first country of each group goes to the semifinals, Spain should be the leader of this group C to meet in the semifinals with the winner of group B, where Australia, Slovakia and Belgium have been drawn. In Group A, Switzerland, runner-up in 2021, will compete with Canada, the sixth nation in the current ranking, and against Italy.
In Group B, Australia, top 1 in the current ranking and second head of the group, will face Slovakia and Belgium. Group C will compete with Spain, seeking its sixth title in history, Kazakhstan, and hosts Great Britain. Group D will meet the Czech Republic, winner of six of the last ten editions of the tournament, the United States, with 11 players in the top 100, and Poland, with world number one Iga Swiatek in the lead.
The winning team of Group A will face the winner of Group D while the winner of Group C will face the one from Group B in the semifinals, in the direct elimination phase of the Finals. Rafael Nadal was looking good to continue his red-hot Grand Slam winning streak this year at the Wimbledon Championships.
Toni Nadal praises Rafa’s attitude
Toni Nadal wrote a column in El Pais about his nephew’s injury and fitness situation over the years. “First of all, Rafael Nadal has an ability to endure suffering and to overcome extraordinary difficulty,” Toni said.
“Already in 2005 he had to accept and internalize the pain in order to continue with his sports career. If we had given credit to the seriousness of his congenital injury, he would have retired in those early days and would not have even lifted the 2006 Roland Garros.
Second, even in seemingly untenable situations, he almost always retains unshakable faith in himself.” Toni added. “He tends to take every opportunity he has available to him and grasp at straws. If he goes well, he wins the match, and if not, he leaves with the peace of mind that he won’t be able to attribute the defeat to his own resignation.”
