Great Britain learn Billie Jean King Cup quarter-final draw as opponent revealed
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Great Britain have been drawn against Germany in the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup finals.
For this year’s edition, the Billie Jean King Cup finals has a new format and instead of a round-robin group stage, has a knock out competition, more in line with the Davis Cup, which it will briefly overlap with.
Eight teams, including Great Britain, will be in the first round with the four seeded teams, Australia, Canada, Italy and the Czech Republic receiving byes to the quarter-finals. Spain, Japan, Poland, Slovakia, USA and Romania are the other sides in the competition.
The British team, including Emma Raducanu, qualified for the tournament by beating France in Le Portel earlier this month, while Germany reached the finals by beating Brazil.
Unlike Britain, who boast Katie Boulter at 28 in the rankings, Germany do not currently have a top-50 player, with veteran Tatjana Maria their number one at 67.
Keothavong’s side reached the semi-finals two years ago despite losing in the qualifiers to the Czech Republic after being awarded a wild card spot when Glasgow stepped in to host the finals.
Canada are the defending Billie Jean King Cup champions, and would be next in line for Great Britain, should they beat Germany.
The first round will be held from Tuesday 12 November to Thursday 14 November, and the final will be played on 20 November.
Great Britain secured a place in the competition when Raducanu came from a set down and held her nerve to beat France’s Diane Parry, and secure the crucial 3-1 lead for the team, in a surprise win over the sixth-ranked team.
It was the first time Britain has qualified for the new finals on merit. In 2022 they were awarded a wildcard as tournament hosts when the finals took place in Glasgow, but not since 1990 have a side reached the quarter-finals.
The International Tennis Federation president, David Haggerty said about the new format: “We are offering a November to remember in 2024. The first ball of the World Cup of Tennis will be at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals on 12 November, and the last ball will be at the Davis Cup Final 8 on 24 November. This provides us with a great opportunity to maximise viewing and fan engagement across both World Cup of Tennis competitions.”
With reporting from PA
