Captain's blog: Anne Keothavong previews Great Britain vs Czech Republic at the Billie Jean King Cup
As we inch closer to the start of Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup qualifying clash with Czech Republic on 15-16 April – captain Anne Keothavong shares her thoughts on the tie and what fans can expect from a young British team.
The next few weeks are definitely going to be a challenge, but it’s one we’re excited for.
We’re up against one of the best tennis nations in the world, particularly in the women’s game, but we have a young team, with a couple of players looking to make their debuts, who I believe are ready to step up.
Bringing Sonay Kartal into that environment for the first time and Emma Raducanu leading the team – it’s a very different dynamic to what we’re used to, but it’s a fresh team and I can’t wait for all of us to get together as a team and get stuck in.
In Emma, we have someone who is in a completely different position to when she first joined the team in Bratislava, just before the pandemic. Now she’s our number one player and I know she will want to lead by example.
There’s also a bit of the unknown for Emma as she’s going in to her first match representing Great Britain, which will be a new experience for her, but she’s shown why she’s one of the top stars in the game right now.
It’s been brilliant for Harriet to crack that top 100 barrier – which is a big deal for every player. She’s had a fantastic run recently and she’s been part of the Billie Jean King Cup team a number of times, so she knows how it all works and that experience will be really important.
Katie Swan is in a similar position – she’s been part of the team on several occasions, and she knows the expectations that come with being in the squad. Katie always brings the energy, which I love, and is a big member of our team.
It’s brilliant that they can share this experience with someone like Sonay, who has had great success at ITF level this year – she’s improved her ranking significantly after a number of title wins (including W25 events in Edgbaston and Glasgow on the LTA’s domestic Performance Competitions Calendar).
She hasn’t played quite as much as the other girls in the team, but she’s improved a lot and thoroughly deserves her place. Having spent a bit more time with her over the past few weeks, she’s a delightful person and has been working really hard on and off the court to get to this point.
Czech Republic have strength and depth in their team and certainly have their pick of players to choose from!
They’ve always produced a steady stream of very good tennis players (especially in the women’s game) over the years, which has led to tennis becoming one of the top sports for young girls and boys.
A lot of that has to do with the success they’ve had as one of the most successful teams in Billie Jean King Cup history and we’re hoping to inspire more young players to pick up a racket and start playing in Britain.
One of my goals when we have these events is to try and create memorable moments – not just for the players, but for all the staff and the wider team as well.
There aren’t many opportunities where we get to bring these players into a team environment and it’s not something they get to do very often, so I try to make it as fun as possible. There will be games and plenty of banter, but for now I’m keeping my ideas tucked up my sleeve until we get out there...
We’re going into the tie as underdogs – it’s an away tie, on clay, against one of the best tennis nations in the world – but if we were to come through, that would be up there as one of our best victories.
We’re just going to stay focused on ourselves, prepare well and leave everything out on court – if we do that, then who knows what could happen!