Bengaluru hosts historic BJK cup playoffs as India chases 2026 qualifiers spot
Fresh off a Pune victory, India's women's tennis team hosts the BJK Cup Play-offs, facing Netherlands and Slovenia
Close on the heels of the Indian women’s cricket team’s watershed World Cup triumph, the Indian women’s tennis team is chasing a defining moment of its own. On 14 November, India begins its quest for a place in the qualifiers of the Billie Jean King Cup for the very first time.
Placed in Group G, India will take on the Netherlands and Slovenia in the BJK Cup Playoffs at the SM Krishna Stadium in Bengaluru from 14-16 November. The three teams will face each other once with the top team advancing to the 2026 qualifiers. It is only the second time that India has reached the playoffs and the first time that it is hosting a tie of this stature.
“It’s a very important stepping stone in the journey of women’s tennis in India," says India’s captain Vishaal Uppal, who led the team in the playoffs in 2021, when the team, featuring Sania Mirza, had come up short in an away tie in Latvia. “To get to the playoffs is no mean task. The Netherlands and Slovenia are quality teams, but we have also proven that we can punch above our weight. We will have our strategy in place on how best to tackle them."
Known as the “World Cup of tennis", the BJK Cup is the premier international women’s team tennis event. What began as the Federation Cup in 1963 with 16 participants has grown into the BJK Cup, with 146 teams entered to compete this year. The tournament is split into seven tiers—the BJK Cup finals are the crown jewel, followed by qualifiers, then come playoffs and lastly the continental Groups I-IV.
In April, the Indian women’s team put on a sterling display in the Asia-Oceania Group I in Pune, beating higher ranked teams like Thailand and South Korea, to match their best performance in the tournament by progressing to the playoffs. But the BJK Cup playoffs are a tricky mix of teams that have dropped down from the 2025 qualifiers and those promoted from Group I. Next weekend’s 12-team playoffs features Iga Świątek-led Poland and former champions like Canada, Australia, Czechia along with newbies like India.
India may have dodged some of those heavyweights in group play, but the Netherlands and Slovenia still operate in a higher weight class compared to India. The Netherlands is the highest ranked team in the group at 14, followed by Slovenia at 19, while India comes in at 27.
Both the teams also have top-100 singles players—Kaja Juvan (Slovenia) is ranked 97, Veronika Erjavec (Slovenia) is No.98, Suzan Lamens (Netherlands) is No.86. India does not have any player ranked in the top 300. The team’s No.1 player, Sahaja Yamalapalli, is placed 310 in the world.
Though the odds are stacked against India, the echoes of that super-charged week in Pune are keeping doubts at bay.
“I feel like the performance in Asia-Oceania Group I has given us more motivation, more momentum going into the playoffs," says Yamalapalli, 25.
“Slovenia and the Netherlands have some really good players, experienced players. But the BJK Cup is a different atmosphere. You have the captain and the entire team supporting you. The mindset will be to play our best tennis."
With the format changing from a one-on-one, home-away ties to group ties and the prevalence of hard courts, India may not have a clear home advantage in terms of surface alone. But with Bengaluru perched 920m above sea level, the altitude brings challenges of its own.
“Unlike in Chennai, which is at sea level, the ball travels much faster in Bengaluru," explains Yamalapalli. “It is more difficult to control. Breathing is a little harder for the first five minutes or so. But I have trained in Bengaluru before."
→ The Indian team is currently in training camp to adapt to the conditions.
The bigger concern for India may be the players’ form. The highs of Pune were supposed to catapult the players’ performance on tour, but once removed from the team atmosphere they haven’t been able to replicate the heroics. Shrivalli Bhamidipaty was India’s MVP in April, winning five straight matches, but she hasn’t carried the momentum into the season. “I had a minor inflammation in my knee for which I had to give it a little rest (July-August) and just do my rehab and get back stronger," says the 23-year-old.
However, the WTA250 Chennai Open, the biggest women’s tennis tour event in India, last week has put wind in their sails. While Yamalapalli gained invaluable experience as she competed against Olympic silver medallist Donna Vekic in the second round, Bhamidipaty defeated teen sensation Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi in the first round and came up with a fighting performance against seventh seed Kimberly Birrell.
“I feel pretty confident coming into the playoffs," says Bhamidipaty, whose attacking tennis can once again be the X-factor for India.
While Yamalapalli and Bhamidipaty are expected to carry the load in singles, the experienced Ankita Raina and Prarthana Thombare will most likely take on doubles duty. Over the last few years, Indian women’s tennis players have stepped up and compete better in front of home fans. Feisty and eager to make a mark, this group of young women is hoping to break new ground for Indian tennis.
“I don’t mind the underdog tag," says Uppal, a former India Davis Cup (men’s tennis team event) player. “We are the hunters, that works for us. If we can pull it off, we will be the first Indian (women’s) team to reach the World Group (qualifiers). And whatever else they do in their career, nobody can take that away from them."
Deepti Patwardhan is a sportswriter based in Mumbai.
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Billie Jean King Cup playoffs: Group G squads
SLOVENIA
Kaja Juvan: Singles ranking 97
Veronika Erjavec: Singles ranking 98, doubles ranking 114
Tamara Zidansek: Singles ranking 164
Dalila Jakupovic: Singles ranking: 164, doubles ranking 115
Nika Radisic: Doubles rankings 118
THE NETHERLANDS
Suzan Lamens: Singles ranking 86
Arantxa Rus: Singles ranking 140, doubles ranking 146
Anouk Kovermans: Singles ranking 207
Demi Schuurs: Doubles ranking 21
INDIA
Sahaja Yamalapalli: Singles ranking 310
Shrivalli Bhamidipaty: Singles ranking 383
Riya Bhatia: Singles ranking 466, doubles ranking 183
Ankita Raina: Doubles ranking 207
Prarthana Thombare: Doubles ranking 142
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