{"id":447478,"date":"2025-09-24T04:15:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T04:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/447478\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T04:15:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T04:15:14","slug":"jessica-pegula-gives-her-opinion-on-lindsay-davenport-as-captain-after-the-usa-lose-in-billie-jean-king-cup-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/447478\/","title":{"rendered":"Jessica Pegula gives her opinion on Lindsay Davenport as captain after the USA lose in Billie Jean King Cup final"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It wasn\u2019t to be for Team USA at the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals, as they missed out on the title once more.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Taking down Kazakhstan 2-1 and Great Britain 2-0, Lindsay Davenport\u2019s<\/a> side qualified for their first final since 2018.<\/p>\n

Failing in their title bid, Team USA lost to Italy 2-0, with Emma Navarro falling to Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Jessica Pegula coming up short against Jasmine Paolini<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"TeamPhoto by Lintao Zhang\/Getty Images for Billie Jean King Cup<\/p>\n

The defeat was tough to stomach for fans of American tennis, as the nation has now gone eight years without a title at the Billie Jean King Cup<\/a> Finals.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the loss, star player Pegula<\/a> has now given her honest verdict on Team USA captain Davenport.<\/p>\n

Jessica Pegula says she likes playing for \u2018super direct\u2019 Lindsay Davenport<\/p>\n

During the latest episode of \u2018The Player\u2019s Box Podcast\u2019, Pegula had this to say about her Team USA captain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like playing for Lindsay [Davenport] because she is so funny but so direct. It\u2019s so funny because she will just be very straightforward, and you just start laughing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven yesterday, she was just very matter-of-fact. \u2018You are not doing this, you need to change this.\u2019 It\u2019s so funny and so matter-of-fact. But she is so nice, it\u2019s just the way that she delivers it makes it really funny. I would rather someone be super direct rather than be like I\u2019m not really sure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think as a captain, I feel like that is really important for the rest of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JessicaPhoto by Rich Storry\/Getty Images for ITF<\/p>\n

Pegula praised Davenport for the efforts she\u2019s made in looking after every member of the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cMadi [Keys]<\/a>, you have had a really long relationship with her. I have not had that much [time] with her until she became captain, but I have always appreciated that, I feel she really looks out for each player,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201c[She asks] Are you feeling okay? How are you doing? It\u2019s not just how is your tennis, it\u2019s how are you doing personally.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause she is so honest, she appreciates the honesty back of how are you? How are you really doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Davenport is clearly well-liked in the Team USA camp, but what is her record like as captain?<\/p>\n

Team USA\u2019s record at the Billie Jean King Cup with Lindsay Davenport<\/p>\n

The three-time Grand Slam champion took on the role in September 2023, replacing Kathy Rinaldi, who had just overseen a Group Stage exit.<\/p>\n

Leading her team to the finals, Davenport began her captaincy with a win over Belgium in April 2024.<\/p>\n

Team USA vs Belgium (2024 Billie Jean King Cup qualifier)<\/p>\n\nMatch<\/strong><\/td>\nWinner<\/strong><\/td>\nLoser<\/strong><\/td>\nScore<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1<\/td>\nUSA (Jessica Pegula)<\/td>\nBelgium (Sofia Costoulas)<\/td>\nUSA (1-0) Belgium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n2<\/td>\nUSA (Emma Navarro)<\/td>\nBelgium (Hanne Vandewinkel)<\/td>\nUSA (2-0) Belgium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n3<\/td>\nUSA (Jessica Pegula)<\/td>\nBelgium (Hanne Vandewinkel)<\/td>\nUSA (3-0) Belgium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n4<\/td>\nUSA (Taylor Townsend\/Caroline Dolehide)<\/td>\nBelgium (Kimberly Zimmermann\/Marie Benoit)<\/td>\nUSA (4-0) Belgium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Team USA vs Belgium (2024 Billie Jean King Cup qualifier)<\/p>\n

Qualifying for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga, Team USA suffered a shock defeat in the round of 16 to big underdogs Slovakia.<\/p>\n

Team USA vs Slovakia (2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals R16)<\/p>\n\nMatch<\/strong><\/td>\nWinner<\/strong><\/td>\nLoser<\/strong><\/td>\nScore<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1<\/td>\nUSA (Taylor Townsend)<\/td>\nSlovakia (Renata Jamrichova)<\/td>\nUSA (1-0) Slovakia<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n2<\/td>\nSlovakia (Rebecca Sramkova)<\/td>\nUSA (Danielle Collins)<\/td>\nUSA (1-1) Slovakia<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n3<\/td>\nSlovakia (Tereza Mihalikova\/Viktoria Hruncakova)<\/td>\nUSA (Ashlyn Krueger\/Taylor Townsend)<\/td>\nUSA (1-2) Slovakia<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Team USA vs Slovakia (2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals R16)<\/p>\n

Returning to the qualifying stage in 2025, Davenport and co. got their revenge on Slovakia as they booked their place in the finals.<\/p>\n

Team USA vs Denmark (2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals qualifier)<\/p>\n\nMatch<\/strong><\/td>\nWinner<\/strong><\/td>\nLoser<\/strong><\/td>\nScore<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1<\/td>\nUSA (Hailey Baptiste)<\/td>\nDenmark (Rebecca Munk Mortensen)<\/td>\nUSA (1-0) Denmark<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n2<\/td>\nUSA (Bernarda Pera)<\/td>\nDenmark (Johanne Christine Svendsen)<\/td>\nUSA (2-0) Denmark<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n3<\/td>\nUSA (Desirae Krawczyk\/Asia Muhammad)<\/td>\nDenmark (Laura Brunkel\/Emilie Francati)<\/td>\nUSA (3-0) Denmark<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Team USA vs Denmark (2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals qualifier)Team USA vs Slovakia (2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals qualifier)<\/p>\n\nMatch<\/strong><\/td>\nWinner<\/strong><\/td>\nLoser<\/strong><\/td>\nScore<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1<\/td>\nUSA (Hailey Baptiste)<\/td>\nSlovakia (Renata Jamrichova)<\/td>\nUSA (1-0) Slovakia<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n2<\/td>\nUSA (Bernarda Pera)<\/td>\nSlovakia (Rebecca Sramkova)<\/td>\nUSA (2-0) Slovakia<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n3<\/td>\nSlovakia (Mia Pohankova\/Tereza Mihalikova)<\/td>\nUSA (Desirae Krawczyk\/Asia Muhammad)<\/td>\nUSA (2-1) Slovakia<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Team USA vs Slovakia (2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals qualifier)<\/p>\n

Davenport then led her team to the finals in Shenzhen, where they fell to Italy, 2-0.<\/p>\n

Team USA vs Kazakhstan (2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals QF)<\/p>\n\nMatch<\/strong><\/td>\nWinner<\/strong><\/td>\nLoser<\/strong><\/td>\nScore<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1<\/td>\nUSA (Emma Navarro)<\/td>\nKazakhstan (Yulia Putintseva)<\/td>\nUSA (1-0) Kazakhstan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n2<\/td>\nKazakhstan (Elena Rybakina)<\/td>\nUSA (Jessica Pegula)<\/td>\nUSA (1-1) Kazakhstan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n3<\/td>\nUSA (Jessica Pegula\/Taylor Townsend)<\/td>\nKazakhstan (Elena Rybakina\/Yulia Putintseva)<\/td>\nUSA (2-0) Kazakhstan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Team USA vs Kazakhstan (2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals QF)Team USA vs Great Britain (2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals SF)<\/p>\n\nMatch<\/strong><\/td>\nWinner<\/strong><\/td>\nLoser<\/strong><\/td>\nScore<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1<\/td>\nUSA (Emma Navarro)<\/td>\nGreat Britain (Sonay Kartal)<\/td>\nUSA (1-0) Great Britain<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n2<\/td>\nUSA (Jessica Pegula)<\/td>\nGreat Britain (Katie Boulter)<\/td>\nUSA (2-0) Great Britain<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Team USA vs Great Britain (2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals SF)Team USA vs Italy (2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals F)<\/p>\n\nMatch<\/strong><\/td>\nWinner<\/strong><\/td>\nLoser<\/strong><\/td>\nScore<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1<\/td>\nItaly (Elisabetta Cocciaretto)<\/td>\nUSA (Emma Navarro)<\/td>\nUSA (0-1) Italy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n2<\/td>\nItaly (Jasmine Paolini)<\/td>\nUSA (Jessica Pegula)<\/td>\nUSA (0-2) Italy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Team USA vs Italy (2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals F)<\/p>\n

Missing out on the title in 2025, Davenport will be hoping to go one better and pick up her first Billie Jean King Cup title as captain in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It wasn\u2019t to be for Team USA at the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals, as they missed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":447479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4105],"tags":[10339,6741,100977,79,1068,16,15,5069],"class_list":{"0":"post-447478","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-billie-jean-king-cup","9":"tag-jessica-pegula","10":"tag-lindsay-davenport","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-tennis","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-wta"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115257339140648388","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}