Czech Republic Eliminates Britain From Billie Jean King Cup

Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter dropped their singles matches as Great Britain fell to the Czech Republic in the Billie Jean King Cup quarter-finals.

Great Britain's Billie Jean King Cup run ended in the quarter-finals as Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter both lost their singles matches against the Czech Republic. Captain Anne Keothavong's squad entered the tie as clear underdogs, with every Czech player ranked above the top British singles player.

Kartal, playing her first competitive match since retiring injured at Indian Wells in March after six months out with a lower back injury, pushed Marie Bouzkova to three sets before falling 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-4 in a match that lasted exactly three hours. She saved three match points and broke back late in the deciding set but could not complete the comeback against the world number 26.

Boulter, ranked 54th in the world, was then beaten 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) by Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, who is ranked sixth. Boulter did not create a single break point in the second set as Noskova closed out the tie. It marked Boulter's second straight loss to Czech opposition, following a defeat by Karolina Muchova at the US Open three weeks earlier.

The loss means Britain misses the semi-finals at this event for the first time since 2023 and will not win a maiden title this year. The Czech Republic, an 11-time champion and the only team with two top-10 players at the Finals, advances to face either Kazakhstan or Spain in Friday's semi-finals.