France’s team captain, Julien Benneteau has named four players who will face the Brits at the Coventry Building Society Arena in Coventry between 14-15 April.

France’s Billie Jean King Cup squad to face Great Britain:

• Caroline Garcia (singles world No.5/doubles world No.28)
• Alize Cornet (singles world No.70/doubles world No.148)
• Clara Burel (singles world No.111/doubles world No.647)
• Kristina Mladenovic (singles world No.143/doubles world No.14)

Find out more about the France team set to take on the Brits in April:

Caroline Garcia

• Age: 29
• Ranking: 5
• Billie Jean King Cup ties played: 11
• Billie Jean King Cup record: 19-7

Garcia embarked on the best season of her career so far in 2022 – reaching a career-high of world No.4 and being crowned champion at the WTA Finals champion in Texas.

Coming into the tie as France’s highest ranked player, Garcia has already accumulated a strong win-loss record at the Billie Jean King Cup, boasting an impressive 19 wins to seven losses and played a vital role in guiding her country to the title in 2019.

Garcia has reached the final of two WTA 250 events so far this year, at the Monterrey and Lyon Opens and represented France at the inaugural United Cup event in Australia, where she came out on top against Croatia’s Petra Martic and Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska.

Alize Cornet

• Age: 33
• Ranking: 70
• Billie Jean King Cup ties played: 22
• Billie Jean King Cup record: 10-22

Cornet enters the tie as France’s most experienced Billie Jean King Cup player. Since making her debut in 2008 at the age of 18, Cornet has gone on to become a regular feature in the French team, having played in 22 ties so far.

A quarter-finalist at the 2022 Australian Open, the 33-year-old was pivotal in France’s 2019 victory at the Billie Jean King Cup, where an important second round win against Belgium’s Elise Mertens helped guide her team to the crown.

Cornet also featured at the United Cup, where she defeated Croatia’s Donna Vekic before going on to lose her second rubber against Argentina’s Maria Carle. Cornet has since struggled to build up momentum in tournaments but will be looking to re-gain her form ahead of the upcoming tie.

Clara Burel

• Age: 22
• Ranking: 111
• Billie Jean King Cup ties played: 2
• Billie Jean King Cup record: 1-2

Burel made her Billie Jean King Cup debut in 2021 where she sealed a victory in the singles against Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova, before joining forces with Cornet for the doubles rubber against Canada.

Despite being the youngest member of the team, Burel has proved she can perform on the biggest stages, having knocked out reigning Wimbledon Champion Elena Rybakina in the first round of the US Open last August.

Burel has already shown her potential this year, having come through the qualifying rounds of the Australian Open to reach the second round before bowing out to Barbora Krejcikova. Could another upset be on the cards?

Kristina Mladenovic

• Age: 29
• Ranking: 14 (doubles)
• Billie Jean King Cup ties played: 17
• Billie Jean King Cup record: 25-10

Completing the French team is nine-time Grand Slam champion and current doubles world No.14, Kristina Mladenovic.

In 2022, Mladenovic teamed up with Garcia for the French Open doubles, with the duo clinching the title after a hard-fought battle against American duo Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff in the final.

Mladenovic was a standout star of France’s triumphant run in 2019, after she overcame Ash Barty and Ajla Tomljanovic in the singles rubbers before partnering with Garcia to take down Barty and Sam Stosur in the doubles to secure the title.­

With a wealth of experience under her belt in both doubles and singles, Mladenovic will be a vital asset to the French team, and will no doubt bring a tough challenge for the Brits.