BILLIE JEAN KING CUP

September 22, 2026

Wim Fissette

Greet Minnen

Magali Kempen

Jana Otzipka

Team Belgium

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for attending the press conference with Team Belgium.

Wim, it's been a while since Belgium has been in the Finals, since 2021, so how excited are you to be here?

CAPTAIN FISSETTE: I think that's the most important. We're super excited that we are here. We come from very far. What we have achieved in the last two years is quite exceptional, the countries we have beaten in the past year with the USA, Germany, France. Yeah, really proud of this effort, that we made it to the final eight here.

First of all, again, very grateful to be in the final eight. I think this is the most important and the goal we wanted to achieve. Now that we're here, we just want to give our best and see if we can win one more battle.

THE MODERATOR: Greet, a question for you. As Wim said, it's taken a while to get back here. What does it mean for you as a player to be part of this team?

GREET MINNEN: For me the last time was in 2021. Yeah, I mean, it's really amazing feeling to be back in the Finals, to be, yeah, among all these other amazing countries. Being part of such a small country, seeing all the other bigger countries, it's really nice.

I think, yeah, we're just all very excited to be here. We really looking forward to tomorrow - Thursday, sorry. We're just really happy to be here.

THE MODERATOR: We'll open the floor for questions for the team.

Q. Question to the coach. Your first opponent is Ukraine. Anhelina Kalinina replaced Marta Kostyuk on the Ukrainian team. What do you think of Ukrainian tennis players?

CAPTAIN FISSETTE: We know this time of the year is always a bit tricky, end of the season, more or less. Some payers are injured. It's kind of what we expect and also we have to deal with unfortunately on our team.

Svitolina is playing. Obviously one of the best players in this tournament, really tough player to beat. Kalinina is a great player, too. I know her for many years. Definitely tricky player.

From our part, I wish we could have played with our very strongest team, but we also had to battle with some injuries.

Again, Billie Jean King Cup is always very different, different emotions. I think everything is possible. It's a special competition. We believe in our chances.

Q. Could you elaborate a little bit more on preparations this week and how it's gone, the team that you have.

CAPTAIN FISSETTE: Yeah, I mean, it's been a bit challenging even before coming here. Like, obviously we don't have our No. 1 player here, Elise Mertens, which we would have hoped for.

Also in the past days we had some injuries. In the past days we added two players to the team. Like, we see it day by day. We know we're getting better and stronger day by day. It's good we have a few days left. Yeah, we'll be ready for Thursday.

Q. Greet, I wondered if you could reflect on the tie against the USA, what a famous victory that was. Maybe that gives you some motivation to continue the momentum from that tie this week...

GREET MINNEN: Yeah, like Wim said, the last few years we've really beaten a lot of great teams. We really showed how strong we can be. So I think, yeah, it gives us for sure some confidence going into this final.

Yeah, the victory against USA was really amazing. I think it was really a team effort. Everybody was there supporting, all the players, all the staff. Yeah, it was a team effort.

Yeah, I think if we can repeat that this week, it would be great.

Q. Two questions for captain. Your success or your win in the qualifiers against the United States, how much that success or that win boosts your confidence. How are you going to draw on this success? The second question is on your preparation for this Billie Jean King Cup Final, how well is the preparation going?

CAPTAIN FISSETTE: Well, I think in the last two years, I mean, we won every tie. Not always with our - on paper - strongest team. I think also when we gave the chance to some younger players, they really performed well. That gave us a lot of confidence.

I think also against United States, we were happy that Elise Mertens joined our team. At the end it was also Hanne Vandewinkel and Greet who got the victories there. It was really a team effort. I think that's something that should give us, or does give us, a lot of confidence.

Again, I think this week is the same story. We're not on paper our best, but we know we have a lot of good players, even we're a small country. We always believe in our chances.

I think that's what we learned in the last two years, that we don't need to have our strongest team to win.

Q. Greet, as the most experienced player on your team, what do you think about the matchup? What do you think are the keys to your win?

GREET MINNEN: If I'm the most experienced player, that means I'm the oldest one, so thank you (smiling).

Yeah, I think the matchup against Ukraine is for sure not easy. They're a really strong country with a lot of great players, very solid players with big fighting spirit.

I think the key for us is really also to show our fighting spirit, to give it our all, to really fight from the first point until the last.

I think if we leave the court with our head held high, we can call it a success, for sure.

Q. A follow-up question. We have seen younger players added to your team. What advice would you give to them? What do you think of their potential?

GREET MINNEN: Well, yeah, I think indeed we added some new, younger players. For example, Jana is here. I think I will help them as best as I can for some advice.

I think the most important thing is to enjoy every moment you get here, really to not take it for granted, 'cause these moments are really special. I always enjoy them. I still try to enjoy every moment. I think that's most important.

Yeah, for sure they have some good potential. I've seen Jana play. I practiced with her few times. She has some big strokes. She really goes for it, which I admire a lot in a player.

So yeah, I think if she can keep progressing, she might have a very nice future.

Q. My question for Captain Wim. Since last year you have shown that Team Belgium is very strong, you have team spirit, a lot of resilience on court. I'd like to ask you, how do you maintain that spirit?

CAPTAIN FISSETTE: Yeah, probably ask the players (smiling). I think that's a good question for them, too.

We try to make it really a fun week first of all, but also we try to train really hard. I feel like in every tie that we've been, we spend most hours on the court. The players, they're truly motivated to give their best. They try to prepare themselves the best possible way.

We give them freedom also a bit to follow their own schedule. Like, during the year they obviously travel by themselves, they have their routines. I try to keep the routines. Not because suddenly we're in a team that everything has to be the same way. I want it to be more following their own path, what they need at the moment. So more listening to the players than telling them what to do every single day.

I think everyone feels freedom and everyone also feels a lot of support from the other players, from the staff. The staff is also super important. The players come to the team and they really get the best possible support physically, but also with the racquets, the stringing. They get everything what they need.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, everyone.