Interim Culture Amp Australian Billie Jean King Cup Captain Nicole Pratt believes her team has the experience required to progress to the 2026 Qualifiers in Hobart this weekend.
After missing out on its first BJK Cup Finals campaign since 2018, Australia aims to keep its 2026 Finals hopes alive when it faces Brazil and Portugal in the Play-offs.
Despite being the highest-ranked nation in Group E, as the 12th-ranked team, Pratt knows they will have tough competition.
“On paper, we are the favoured team. We’ve got the highest-ranked players,” she said. “However, we’ve all been around long enough to know that when it comes to these team competitions, a lot of the players elevate beyond their rankings, and our players have done that in the past as well.
“We certainly won’t be taking anyone lightly, given the rankings at the moment.”
Australian team
PlayerSingles rankingDoubles rankingMaya JointNo.32No.54Kimberly BirrellNo.95No.149Talia GibsonNo.136No.327Storm HunterNo.507No.33Ellen Perez-No.23Captain: Nicole Pratt
On Friday, Australia faces Portugal, a team that has won 14 of its past 18 ties. Three years ago, Portugal was competing in Group III of the Europe/Africa Zone. Now they are in contention for their first trip to the BJK Cup Qualifiers.
“Sometimes you have to take steps back to go forward. So, from 2022, you start growing step by step,” Portugal BJK Cup captain Neuza Silva said about their monumental rise. “Now, we have a solid team with very good players and very good quality. I know from my heart that they love to play this competition … We will play with our heart to get even better.”
Sisters Francisca and Matilde Jorge have been the catalysts in Portugal’s charge. Francisca has won 13 of 15 rubbers since the beginning of 2022, while Matilde has won 17 of 22 rubbers in the same timeframe. The pair is also undefeated in six doubles rubbers as a duo.
Storm Hunter, Australia’s most experienced player in the squad, said the key to containing Portugal was not to worry about anything beyond their control.
“We’re just going to focus on ourselves,” she said. “We’ve been in [Portugal’s] situation where we’ve been the underdogs, and we’ve been the lower-ranked team on paper and come out and elevated.
“Use the home crowd to our advantage, that’s the biggest thing, being here in Hobart and using the Aussie fans, getting them behind us, using our team. These are the best weeks of the year because you turn to the side and you have the other players and the staff members, who have been with us all week supporting you, every single point.”
Portugal team
PlayerSingles rankingDoubles rankingMaya Francisca JorgeNo.202No.102Matilde JorgeNo.255No.101Angelina VoloshchukNo.470No.644Ines MurtaNo.816No.833Captain: Neuza Silva
Victory on Friday could create a winner-takes-all tie for Australia against Brazil on Sunday. Brazil’s team is headlined by doubles world No.14 Luisa Stefani, who recently reached the doubles final at the WTA Finals in Riyadh with Hungarian Timea Babos.
Having played with Hunter in four tournaments this year, as well as the BJK Cup Qualifiers in April, Australian doubles No.1 Ellen Perez believes the familiarity of playing with each other would be beneficial.
“I think the nice part is being so comfortable and knowing Storm so well,” she said. “Although we don’t get to play a tonne together, we have had a fair chance of playing on the same side, and I think we have a great relationship, great friendship, and the communication comes easy to us.
“Every team is going to bring their own challenge, every team has that player that might have the X-factor, but we know the players well, and we’ll definitely try and combat that.”
Brazil team
PlayerSingles rankingDoubles rankingLaura PigossiNo.193No.82Ana CandiottoNo.464No.228Nauhany Leme Da SilvaNo.672No.751Luisa Stefani-No.14Ingrid Martins-No.78Captain: Luiz Peniza
Watch the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Play-off ties between Australia, Brazil and Portugal on 14-16 November on 9Gem and 9Now.
