Throughout Anne Keothavong’s 12 years of diligently competing in the Billie Jean King Cup, the Great Britain team often seemed stuck. The Europe/Africa Group I, where they were positioned for more than a decade, is notoriously brutal and once a team is relegated to those zonal groups, it can be very difficult to escape. It was not until 2019, with Keothavong as captain, that Great Britain finally broke through and established themselves among the elite.
Those struggles in the lower divisions only underline the massive strides Great Britain have taken. Two years after reaching the Billie Jean King Cup semi-finals, they can now call themselves one of the best teams in the world after Friday’s efficient 2-0 win over Germany, which saw both Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu win in two sets. They will face the defending champions Canada on Sunday confident that they can win.
“I know that feeling very well, being stuck in the Europe/Africa zone back in my playing days,” said Keothavong. “But for me to be able to captain the team of incredible women, and for Katie to lead the way she does, and to have Emma back in the team playing great tennis, given the circumstances over the last few weeks, I feel like I’m in a very fortunate position, and this is a team I really believe that we can win this.”
Not only are Raducanu and Boulter two of the three highest-ranked female players Britain has produced in the 21st century, they particularly rise to the occasion when representing their country. Boulter, who was tussling with top-five players in this competition even when she was ranked outside the top 150, has been excellent since her debut while Raducanu has been instrumental in their success this year, winning four of her first five Billie Jean King Cup matches.
“I don’t have a problem saying that out loud, because we’ve got quality players who have shown in their own right what they’re capable of, whether it’s this year or in previous years,” Keothavong said.
Their next challenge is a Canada team that sealed an incredible week in Seville last year by defeating Italy 2-0 to win the title. They are led by Leylah Fernandez, who produced an MVP performance in singles and doubles to earn her most meaningful result since losing to Raducanu in the 2021 US Open final. The big surprise, however, was the then 18-year-old Marina Stakusic who clinched the trophy with a singles win over Martina Trevisan.
While Canada has proven that they are an formidable team, this is an evenly balanced tie. Great Britain boast higher-ranked singles players, with world No 24 Boulter outranking Fernandez, who is 31st in the standings, while Raducanu, ranked No 58, is superior to both potential opponents, No 103-ranked Rebecca Marino and world No 127 Stakusic. There will be considerable pressure on Britain in the singles rubbers, though, since Fernandez and the world No 3 in doubles, Gabriela Dabrowski, are a brilliant pair.
What is clear is that this is a great chance for all teams in the weaker top half of the draw, where Boulter and Fernandez are the only top 40 singles players. While the US team had been heavy favourites in the half, six of their seven top 50 players opted out of competing in Málaga and they fell on Thursday to Slovakia. Iga Swiatek’s Poland, meanwhile, are down in the bottom half and face the Czech Republic. On Sunday, it will down to the individual players to seize the opportunity before them.
