Great Britain miss out on Billie Jean King Cup Finals spot as Caroline Garcia and France claim victory

Updated 15/04/2023 at 15:27 GMT

Great Britain's dream of making it to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals were dashed as France's world No. 5, Caroline Garcia, secured victory in their best-of-five qualifier by defeating Britain's highest-ranked player, Harriet Dart, 6-1 6-7(10) 6-1. The absence of Emma Raducanu, Britain's top-ranked player, was felt deeply. France's win gave them an insurmountable 3-0 lead.

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Great Britain's chances of qualifying for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals are over after Harriet Dart's loss to Caroline Garcia in their decisive best-of-five qualifier.

Dart, who was the highest-ranked British player in the absence of Emma Raducanu, was beaten 6-1 6-7(10) 6-1 by Garcia, which gave France an insurmountable 3-0 lead.

As a consequence of this elimination, Britain must now compete in a play-off to secure a spot in the 2024 qualifiers.

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Another defeat in November's qualifier would see Britain demoted to the Group I stage of the competition, the level below the top world tier.

Despite the setback, British captain Anne Keothavong was proud of her players and encouraged them to carry the positive aspects of their performance into their upcoming tournaments.

Britain had a difficult challenge against France, who had much stronger rankings and pedigree.

Their only advantage was playing at home, but the team lost two close singles matches in Coventry on Friday, which included five tie-breaks and fine margins, leaving Keothavong to describe sport as being "brutal".

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Dart was back on court about 18 hours after her loss to Alize Cornet, knowing that she had to win to keep Britain's hopes alive.

Despite her fighting spirit, Dart was unable to match Garcia's service game and eventually lost in three sets.

Speaking after the match, Dart was making no excuses.

She said: "It's a short turnaround and it's not usually like that, when you lose your tournament is done. Physically, I felt good and I was ready to play. She's four or five in the world for a reason."

Dart continued: "I haven't felt my best but competed with what I had and left it all out there. I'm just missing a few points here and there, it contributed to the momentum changes in the matches a lot.

"I'm not missing by a lot but missing a few points here and there can make such a big difference. If I tighten them up, the match is totally different."

Garcia was humble in victory, and complimentary of her vanquished opponent: "We knew it was going to be a battle from the first point until the last one over the two days. They proved why they did so well last year in the finals.

"We had to go very deep and I had to stay focused every single time, keep playing my game.”

Keothavong believes that Raducanu is still keen to play for her nation and expects her to be back in the team for the next tie.

Speaking on Friday, Britain's captain explained: "We hope she makes herself available for future ties. I know she wants to be part of this team. It was just, on this occasion, it wasn’t the right timing for her."

However, it looks unlikely that Britain will be given a wild card again this year, as the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the tournament organisers, have other options.

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