Emma Raducanu-less Great Britain into Billie Jean King Cup semifinals for first time in 41 years
Great Britain received a setback when its No. 1 player Emma Raducanu withdrew from the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup due to a wrist injury days before the tournament began.
However, the Anne Keothavong-led team did the unthinkable on Thursday when the only way for them to qualify for the semifinals was to beat Spain 3-0, and they did. This is their first time in the last four since 1981.
World No. 76 Raducanu's absence was felt earlier in the week as Great Britain suffered a 2-1 loss against Kazakhstan in Group C. When Spain stepped on the court against Great Britain, they needed only one win to advance after having beaten Kazakhstan 3-0 in the first round.
However, the higher-ranked Spanish players were shocked by Heather Watson and Harriet Dart in singles and the doubles team of Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls.
The first match of the day saw 113th-ranked Watson dominate World No. 72 Nuria Parrizas Diaz as she beat her 6-0, 6-2. This was followed by arguably the biggest upset of the tournament so far, with the 95th-ranked Dart prevailing over World No. 13 Paula Badosa 6-3, 6-4. In a must-win situation for both teams, Great Britain's Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls downed Aliona Bolsova and Rebeka Masarova 7-6(5), 6-2. Great Britain will face Australia in the semifinals.
The players got emotional while celebrating in disbelief. Filled with pride, Nicholls and Keothavong expressed their happiness, citing team spirit as their biggest strength.
"We had a massive challenge on our hands," said Nicholls. "Hev played an absolute blinder, Harriet beat Badosa, and then we’ve come out here and won the deciding doubles. A lot of people wrote us off but the team spirit and how well we have all got on, we just wanted to do it for each other."
"This is something really special. I am so proud of this team, every single player on this team has done themselves proud," Keothavong stated.
Great Britain are into the semifinals of the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time in 41 years!
They did it in the most astonishing fashion, needing to beat Spain in all 3 matches today.
First-timers Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls sealed it, with lights-out doubles.
"Hope we can bring a bit of Emma Raducanu magic to Billie Jean King Cup" - Katie Boulter
Emma Raducanu stunned the world of sports in 2021 by winning the US Open as a qualifier at the age of just 18. The youngster has struggled with a number of injuries throughout this season, failing to add to her title tally.
Before the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup commenced, Great Britain player Katie Boulter praised Raducanu and hoped to emulate her success in the team event.
"Let’s hope we can bring a bit of Emma Raducanu magic to Billie Jean King Cup. I think she’s given everyone a little glimmer of what it takes and also what can happen. I think everyone in the building is humming a little bit off that buzz. It gives them that hope that it can be them," Boulter said.