2 years ago
73
ARTICLE AD BOX
Best shots: Dart seals victory for Great Britain in BJK Cup play-offs
Venue: Le Chaudron, Le Portel, France Dates: 12-13 April Times: 14:30 BST on Friday and 13:30 on Saturday |
Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app |
Great Britain face France on Friday and Saturday as they bid for a spot in the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Great Britain reached the semi-finals of the 2022 competition but did not reach the last eight last year, having lost their qualifier against France.
The tie takes place on an indoor clay-court in Le Portel in northern France.
Britain will be led by Katie Boulter, with Emma Raducanu, Harriet Dart and Heather Watson completing Anne Keothavong's team.
The two nations have played each other four times, with both Great Britain and France winning twice.
Britain beat Sweden 3-1 on home turf in November to secure their place in this year's qualifiers.
How does the Billie Jean King Cup work?
Each play-off tie is a best-of-five series, with four singles matches followed by a deciding doubles match if needed.
The winner progresses to November's Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Spain.
Twelve nations compete in the Finals event - eight qualifiers, last year's finalists Canada and Italy, host nation Spain and a wildcard.
The loser of the tie in France will compete in Group I events in 2025.
Who is playing for Great Britain?
Boulter, the British number one and world number 28, is the highest-ranked player in Anne Keothavong's side.
Boulter recently won the biggest title of her career at March's San Diego Open and broke into the world's top 30 for the time.
Former US Open champion Raducanu is also in line to play in her first BJK Cup event since April as she works her way back from a lengthy injury lay-off.
They are joined by Dart, who clinched Britain's spot in the qualifiers, and Watson, who will be appearing in her 36th tie.
Who is playing for France?
World number 23 Caroline Garcia is the highest-ranked player in either team, and has previously been as high as number five in the world.
Garcia is an experienced singles and doubles player, having won two Grand Slam doubles titles alongside team-mate Kristina Mladenovic.
Mladenovic herself is a former world number one in doubles and was previously a top-10 singles player.
Youngsters Diane Parry and Clara Burel complete their team.
English (US) ·