Billie Jean King Cup: Dart and Burrage send GB through to finals
2025 semi-finalists Great Britain were the underdogs going into the draw as they were missing four players in the top 100 in singles (Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, Fran Jones and Sonay Kartal).
But they overcame the disparity in ranking and experience to advance to the finals for the third year in a row.
After being broken in the opening service game and falling to a 3-1 lead, Dart and Burrage came back with a five-game series to take the first set.
In the topsy-turvy second set, all four players had difficulty serving and the serve was broken four times in a row, making the score 3-3. Great Britain made a decisive breakthrough in the ninth game before Burrage lost his nerve to secure victory.
“They are two great players. They play a lot of doubles and this was our first time playing together,” Dart said.
“It’s crazy actually because we played pretty well and to be able to get to the finals is kind of surreal.”
Great Britain became the second team, joining hosts China, to qualify for the eight-team finals in Shenzhen in September, having made it to the last four in the last two tournaments. Losers Australia will compete in the play-offs in November.
