The U.S. Billie Jean King Cup team fell to Belgium, 3-1, in its Qualifying tie played Friday and Saturday on indoor red clay in Ostend, Belgium. An untimely injury to McCartney Kessler that forced her to retire while deadlocked in the third set vs. Elise Mertens and inspired performances from Hanne Vandewinkel and Greet Minnen led the Belgians to advance to the 2026 Finals in front of their home crowd inside the Coretec Dome.
“I honestly couldn’t be prouder of the five ladies that were here,” said U.S. captain Lindsay Davenport. “We tried really hard all week to find our groove and to figure out how we were gonna play, how we’re gonna get three points. But Belgium played so well. They had a great crowd here. We had a great experience, honestly, here in the country. We just never quite got to playing our best.
The American team will next play in the Playoff round the week of November 16 with the goal of returning to the Qualifying pool for 2027. Nations competing in the home-and-away Playoffs include the seven losing nations from this weekend’s Qualifying — including Japan, Australia, Slovenia, Canada and Poland — and the seven best-performing nations from regional Group I events also being played this weekend.
The USA’s opponent and site for the November playoff will be determined via draw held Thursday, April 23, at 6 a.m. ET.
