Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers 2025: Three takeaways from the Brits victory over Netherlands
Great Britain have secured their spot in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen after coming through a tight battle against Netherlands to win 2-1.
Another victory for debutant Sonay Kartal clocked a vital point on the board for the Lexus GB team before British No.1 Katie Boulter suffered defeat to Suzan Lamens.
However, Boulter shook off the defeat to return to the court just under an hour later alongside Jodie Burrage to punch the Brits ticket to September’s Finals.
Here we break down the three key takeaways that contributed to an impressive win that led the Brits to a second consecutive Finals.
Kartal demonstrates quality with back-to-back wins on the clay
Kartal appeared to pick up where she left off in yesterday’s match against Jule Niemeier as she took on Eva Vedder in a high-stakes match on day two.
Still riding a high after clinching her maiden Billie Jean King Cup victory, Kartal put in yet another sensational performance on the clay to place herself in fine-form ahead of the rest of the clay court season.
Early on, both players were going toe-to-toe with each other in a battle to see who could dictate play with their forehand that little bit more - a fight that Kartal certainly got the better of.
A big takeaway from this weekend is the level that Kartal can reach in the clay. She's shown that she can adapt to different game style on the surface - opting for more spin and variety in her first match, while going heavy time and time again versus Vedder from the baseline.
Once the Brit had settled into the match, she slowly began to dial up the intensity and take control in the rallies - crushing a devastating 32 winners compared to Vedder’s 20 across the two hour 20 minute battle.
By mid-way through the opening set, Vedder was trying to target Kartal’s backhand at every opportunity she could, but again the 23-year-old Brit showed great skill to match her opponent strike for strike before working her way around the ball to kill the point on her forehand.
After failing to convert on all three of her break points in the second set, the British No.3 managed to battle through the fatigue to raise her level once again in the third. She dug deep to rip a couple of deadly forehands past Vedder at 2-1 in the third to grasp the first of two breaks to secure the rubber for her nation.
Flawless Lamens rises to the occasion for 13th consecutive victory
When it comes to the WTA tour, there are few players who can match Boulter’s power from the baseline. Her hard-hitting, aggressive brand of tennis makes it difficult for many players to get past her and it’s a key attribute of her game that has led her to three WTA titles since 2023.
Once she’d figured out how to get her gamestyle into play against the slice of Tatjana Maria on Friday, she eased through the final two sets to claim victory - but today posed a different challenge for Boulter against as she took on the in-form Suzan Lamens.
Coming into the match, Lamens was on a 12-match winning streak in Billie Jean King Cup matches and boasted a 19-5 win record since making her debut in 2022. It’s been over a year since her last defeat in the tournament and that shone through evidently in the opening stages, with the Dutchwoman barely putting a foot wrong throughout the 47 minute opening set.
For Lamens, a loss would see her nation crash out of the Qualifiers but the 25-year-old was spurred on by the additional pressure, admitting after the win that, “My best matches are when the team is 1-0 down."
The world No.70 did well to soak up Boulter’s pressure and neutralise her shots from the baseline. Her clean and accurate placement led her to consistently find the corners and place the Brit on the backfoot, who sprayed double the number of Lamens across the match.
While the British No.1 managed to find the first breakthrough in the second to threaten a deciding set, the Dutch star didn’t drop her head. Her impressive unbeaten streak for the Netherlands no doubt fuelled Lamen’s comeback as she recovered the break before reeling off five games on the bounce to close out her 13th victory in a row for her country.
Bold move from the Captain pays off
Making tough calls comes with the job of being a Billie Jean King Cup captain.
Heading into Saturday’s tie, Lexus GB team captain Anne Keothavong had opted for doubles specialist Olivia Nicholls and Harriet Dart to take on the experienced duo of Lamens and Demi Schuurs in the doubles rubber, who are 8-0 in matches they’ve played together.
However, after Lamens leveled the tie to 1-1 following her singles win, Keothavong made a bold decision to switch up her selection by fielding Boulter and Jodie Burrage who have only played together once before.
Some may say it was a risky move - but it was one that paid off and proved a pivotal factor in the Brits booking their spot in the Finals in Shenzhen.
Naturally, the Dutch duo had prepared to face a different British pairing than the ones stood across the net, so they struggled to find the answers to the pace and power the Brits were throwing at them.
The British duo were forced to save four break points in their opening service game, before immediately breaking to love to carry the momentum in their favour.
They dominated their service games from there on out - winning 80% of points behind their first serve, while also being equally as impressive on the return where they won 59% of points (16/27) on the Dutch team’s first serve as they clinched four breaks on their way to securing victory.
