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 so difficult to escape. It was not until 2019, with Keothavong as captain, that Great Britain finally broke through and establish 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 off against the defending champions Canada on Sunday confident that they can win.

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