Great Britain Eliminated by Slovakia in Billie Jean King Cup

Great Britain's hopes of reaching the Billie Jean King Cup final for the first time since 1981 were dashed with a 2-1 defeat against Slovakia in the semifinals. Emma Raducanu began the contest strongly, securing a win over Viktoria Hruncakova 6-4, 6-4, marking her third consecutive victory in the tournament after a two-month injury layoff. However, Katie Boulter's subsequent loss to Rebecca Sramkova, who came back to win 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, tied the match at 1-1. The deciding doubles match saw Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls lose convincingly to Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova 6-2, 6-2, sealing Slovakia's place in the final against Italy. This defeat highlights a missed opportunity for Great Britain, which has yet to secure a tournament victory, having previously finished as runners-up four times. Slovakia's performance throughout the week has been impressive, marking them as the surprise team of the tournament.