New York, October 31 (IANS). World number six Jessica Pegula has withdrawn from the US team for next month's Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Spain. In her place will be 20-year-old Ashlyn Kruger, ranked 65th in the world. USTA shared this information.
Kruger, along with Danielle Collins, Caroline Dolehide, Peyton Stearns and Taylor Townsend, will join Davenport's team, which will compete at the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpeña Arena from November 13 to 20, and for the first time, the Davis Cup Finals will be held at the same venue. Will be held at the location.
The United States has also qualified for the Davis Cup Finals, which will be held from November 19-24. This year's event will be a historic occasion, held simultaneously with the Davis Cup Finals at the Palacio de Deportes José Martín Carpeña Arena.
Pegula was a key player in the US team's qualifying round against Belgium, scoring two wins in April to help the US secure a spot in the finals.
Kruger's entry comes as Pegula, the top-ranked American female tennis player, prepares to compete at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she will look to continue her stellar season.
She reached the third round of WTA 1000-level tournaments held in Madrid and Toronto and peaked at No. 51 in September, the highest ranking of her career.
The format of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals is a 12-nation knockout style bracket, where each event will be a best-of-three competition with two singles matches and one doubles match. The US will play Slovakia in the first round on November 14, with the winner playing Australia in the quarterfinals.
The US is the competition's all-time leader with 18 Billie Jean King Cup titles and will hope to win a record-extending crown this year for the first time since 2017.
–IANS
AMJ/RR
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