Coco Gauff is coming home to play for her country. The USTA confirmed on Oct. 7 that the Delray Beach native, currently ranked No. 4 in the world and a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, will suit up for the U.S. Billie Jean King Cup team when it hosts Hungary at the Delray Beach Tennis Center on West Atlantic Avenue, Nov. 21 and 22.

For anyone in town who has followed her rise into one of the most recognizable athletes in the sport, this is the rare chance to see her compete at the edge of downtown, wearing the national colors, in a stadium a fraction of the size of the show courts in New York or Paris.

What is at stake in November

The Billie Jean King Cup is the top international team competition in women's tennis, the event that used to be called the Fed Cup. This November tie is a Playoff, and the stakes are real. The U.S. lost to Belgium in April, according to the USTA's Billie Jean King Cup page, and beating Hungary is how the Americans climb back into the Qualifying pool for 2027, which keeps alive their shot at competing for the title next year.

The format is a best-of-five series spread over the weekend. The first nation to win three matches takes the tie:

  • Saturday, Nov. 21: two singles matches, pitting each country's top two nominated players against each other.
  • Sunday, Nov. 22: a doubles match first, then two more singles matches to settle it.

Play starts at 1:30 p.m. both days. If one side clinches early, on the third or fourth match, the Sunday schedule can be adjusted, so a lopsided weekend could mean a shorter day two.

Who else is on the team

Gauff is the first name the USTA has put forward. Each country can name up to five players, and the full U.S. nominations are due to be announced Oct. 21. The captain is Lindsay Davenport, the International Tennis Hall of Famer who led the American side to the Billie Jean King Cup final in 2025.

The USTA has noted that recent American teams have leaned on South Florida talent, including Gauff and Jessica Pegula, so the remaining picks are worth watching in two weeks.

Delray Beach has been lucky for Team USA

This will be the fifth time the Delray Beach Tennis Center has hosted the competition, and the home side has never lost there. The U.S. played Fed Cup ties in Delray in 2005, 2007 and 2013 and won all three, per the USTA's 2023 announcement. Then in April 2023, Gauff and Pegula led a sweep of Austria in front of crowds the USTA described as close to sold out, pushing the record at the venue to 4-0.

That 2023 weekend was also a milestone for Gauff personally. She had made her Billie Jean King Cup debut at the Finals in Glasgow the previous fall, but the Austria tie was her first official action for the team on American soil, and it happened in the city she calls home.

Big team tennis weekends also tend to pay off for the surrounding blocks. When Delray hosted a Davis Cup qualifier between the U.S. and Czechia last September, the event brought in more than $2 million for the local economy, according to the USTA. Expect the restaurants and bars along Atlantic Avenue to be busy that weekend.

Tickets and how to go

Two-day packages are already on sale through Ticketmaster starting at $50. Single-day tickets for either Saturday or Sunday go on sale Wednesday, Oct. 7, starting at $35. The USTA keeps the latest details at usta.com/billiejeankingcup.

The venue sits at 201 W. Atlantic Ave., at the western entrance to downtown Delray Beach. According to the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, the complex has an 8,200-seat stadium along with 14 clay courts and six hard courts, and it is the same site that hosts the Delray Beach Open every winter. The Downtown Delray Beach listing puts gates opening around noon to 12:30 p.m. ahead of the 1:30 p.m. start.

Can't make it in person? Tennis Channel will carry the tie in the U.S.

Why it matters here

Gauff plays the biggest stages in the world most weeks of the year, and almost none of them are in Palm Beach County. This is one weekend where a Delray Beach kid represents the country on her own turf, with a spot in next year's competition on the line, at prices closer to a movie night than a Grand Slam. If the last home tie is any guide, the stadium will be loud and mostly local. Single-day seats are the easy way in, and the town's undefeated streak is on the line too.