2023 BJK Finals: Spotlight on Poland

POLAND

First appearances in BJK Cup: 1966

Years played: 41

BJK Cup record: 131 (70 wins, 61 losses)

Most ties played: Alicja Rosolska (41)

Best result: Quarter-finals 1992, 2015

RECORD

Germany beat Poland 3-0 in the 1992 World Group quarter-finals, with Steffi Graf in dominant form in that tie in Frankfurt. Graf would go on to lead her nation to the Billie Jean King Cup title that year.

They also made the last eight of the competition in 2015 and will be competing in the Finals for the second successive season after they lost against USA and Czechia in Glasgow last year.

Poland are competing in Seville after being handed the only wild card to play in the Finals.

MEET THE CAPTAIN - Dawid Celt

Celt initially had ambitions to forge a career in football, but his father was a tennis coach and that inspired him to find his way onto the court.

He enjoyed some success on what was then known as the ITF Futures circuit - now the ITF World Tennis Tour - but injury cut short his ambitions to push on for more and he moved into coaching.

Celt coached Poland's Agnieska Radwanska for several years and after working with Poland's Billie Jean King Cup team as an assistant coach, he was appointed as captain in 2018 and achieved his aim of leading his nation to the Finals by sealing an appearance in Glasgow last year. 

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAY - Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek has experienced some of her best memories on the court playing for Poland, winning the Junior Billie Jean King Cup in 2016 and also helping her nation qualify for the finals of the senior event last year in Glasgow.

Playing in front of her adoring public at home has given Swiatek some unique moments and she admits she enjoys the atmosphere of playing in a Poland team.

"It's always such a different tournament because of the crowds," she says. "Having a team around is also great because in tennis you are normally an individual. 

"It can also stress you out because you are playing for your country. I learned a lot playing for my country and I'm really grateful for that."

HEAD-TO-HEADS

Poland's only win against Spain came in 2014, as they secured a 3-2 triumph away from home in Barcelona as Agnieszka Radwanska won all three matches she played in a World Group play-off tie.

They will be looking to secure their first win against Canada in Seville, with the other previous meeting between these two nations coming back in 1980.

FORM

Defeat in the Qualifiers against Kazakhstan in April came in a tie when Poland captain Dawid Celt did not have the chance to call upon his top ranked player, Iga Swiatek.

Now he will be hoping his team is boosted by the presence of the former world No. 1 who has been a shining star for Polish tennis in recent years.

Swiatek won her fourth Grand Slam title - and third French Open crown - in June and her dominance when she is at her best makes her an irresistible force at the top of the women's game. 

Magda Linette looks certain to be a key player for Poland once again in Seville, with the experienced campaigner enjoying a stellar year on the WTA Tour.

She reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open at the start of 2023 and was a runner-up in a tournament in Guangzhou, China, in September.