Jodie Burrage and Harriet Dart closed out a 3-0 victory for Great Britain in their Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against Australia, winning the deciding doubles 6-3 6-4 in Melbourne.
The British pairing overcame Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez on the indoor courts of John Cain Arena. After falling 3-1 down in the first set, Burrage and Dart turned the match with a five-game run once the roof had been closed, then steadied after early breaks in the second to serve out the tie at their first opportunity.
An emotional Burrage, who returned from surgery for a snapped wrist tendon and a ruptured ankle ligament last year, said she was proud of the pair for how they closed the match. Dart described reaching the finals as “surreal” after their performance.
Britain reached the decider despite a significantly depleted squad. Emma Raducanu, Sonay Kartal, Katie Boulter and Fran Jones were all absent, leaving younger players to step up. Dart and 17-year-old debutant Mika Stojsavljevic had delivered the opening singles wins on Friday, each beating higher-ranked opponents to put Great Britain in control. The scheduled final singles saw Katie Swan take on former junior world No. 1 Emerson Jones, but Swan suffered a back problem in the second set and lost 7-5 6-3.
This result continues a strong run in qualifiers for Britain: they have now won their last four Billie Jean King Cup qualifier ties, beating France, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia. The team will head to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen in September, joining the six other tie winners plus host nation China.
Captain Anne Keothavong, who has led the team since 2016, praised the group’s performances in Melbourne and expressed belief in their prospects. She said the week had been “unbelievable” and that she was proud of the players, adding that while winning the Cup remains the ultimate goal, sometimes a bit of luck is needed for everything to come together. Keothavong insisted that whoever travels to the Finals, Britain will be competing to win, not merely to make up the numbers.