Strycova set to assume Czech BJK Cup captaincy in 2026

Barbora Strycova, former doubles World No. 1 and Wimbledon champion, will lead Czech Billie Jean King Cup team beginning in 2026. She takes over from Petr Pala, aiming to guide the team to more success after her retirement from tennis.

Former doubles World No. 1 and two-time Wimbledon doubles champion Barbora Strycova will assume the captaincy for the Czech Billie Jean King Cup team next year, as per an announcement from the country's national tennis federation on Monday.

Strycova, 39, will succeed Petr Pala in the role following November's Billie Jean King Cup play-offs. Pala, a former Top 10-ranked doubles player on the ATP tour himself, has been in the role since December of 2007 and led the team to world titles in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018. Strycova was a key member of five of those teams -- helping Czechia become the second-most decorated nation in the more than 50-year history of the international team tennis competition once called Fed Cup -- and she will join several high-profile former Hologic WTA Tour stars in leading their respective countries.

The U.S. captain is International Tennis Hall of Famer Lindsay Davenport, for example, while former doubles World No. 1 Ai Sugiyama captains the Japanese team. Next year, former World No. 5 Carla Suárez Navarro will also take the reins of the Spanish squad.

"Playing tennis is quite different from leading the [BJK Cup] team," Strycova told Czech media in the aftermath of the announcement, "but I know I will give my best and try to lead the girls to another trophy."

Also a Top 20 singles player in her career, Strycova retired from tennis ahead of giving birth to the first of her two children in 2021, but returned for one last season in 2023. That year, she had a fairytale finish by winning her second title at the All England Club with Hsieh Su-wei -- the pair had previously triumphed in 2019 -- before saying goodbye later that summer at the US Open.

Strycova's other career accomplishments include 32 total doubles titles and two singles trophies, a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics with Lucie Safarova, and a runner-up finish at the Hsieh at the 2019 WTA Finals.

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