WATCH: Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter and the Great Britain team celebrate joyfully on reaching Billie Jean King Cup SF
Katie Boulter, Emma Raducanu, and Great Britain's Billie Jean King Cup team were recently captured celebrating their 2-0 win over defending champion Canada in the quarterfinals. Next up is Slovakia, and a win would extend Great Britain’s record for most final appearances in the Billie Jean King Cup, with four runner-up finishes.
Anne Keothavong is leading the team as captain. Raducanu and Boulter have represented Great Britain so far, while Harriet Dart, Heather Watson, and Olivia Nicholls have yet to play.
While facing Canada on Sunday, Raducanu scored the first point for Great Britain by defeating Rebecca Marino 6-0, 7-5. In the second match, Boulter defeated Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 6-4. After the match, a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) featured the Great Britain team celebrating joyfully and chanting, "GB's on fire."
Team Great Britain started with a 2-0 victory over Germany in the group stage, with Raducanu beating Jule Niemeier and Boulter defeating Laura Siegemund. After the win over Canada, it will play Slovakia on Tuesday, November 19.
The Slovakian team consists of Rebecca Sramkova, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Viktoria Hruncakova, Tereza Mihalikova, and captain Matej Liptak. It defeated the United States and Australia on the way to the semifinals.
Emma Raducanu - “My Billie Jean King Cup performances have brought very good things out of me”
After her match against Canada’s Rebecca Marino, Emma Raducanu told the press:
"When you're playing a big-serving opponent like Rebecca, you know there is so much emphasis on each serve. My Billie Jean King Cup performances have brought very good things out of me and I think it is the same for everyone. It was an incredibly difficult match because the dynamics were so different in each of the sets.
In the second set, Rebecca really upped her level and served great. I'm very pleased with how I managed to fend off my own break points, sneak that break and close it out.”
After an injury-plagued 2023 season in which she played only seven matches, Raducanu has had an improved 2024 season. She reached the quarterfinals at the Citi Open and the Eastbourne International and made a semifinal finish at the Nottingham Open. Raducanu also impressed audiences at the Wimbledon Championships where she reached the fourth round before being knocked out by Lulu Sun.