Britain beats Australia to advance to Billie Jean King Cup finals – WTOP News

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Britain advanced to the Billie Jean King Cup finals when doubles pair Harriet Dart and Jodie Burrage beat Australia’s Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the teams’ best-of-five matchup Saturday.

The visitors had built a 2-0 lead Friday when 17-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic beat Talia Gibson 7-6 (4), 7-5, and Dart topped Kimberly Birrell 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in singles matches at John Cain Arena.

In a consolation win, 17-year-old Australian Emerson Jones beat Katie Swan 7-5, 6-3 to make the score 3-1.

The finals of the Billie Jean King Cup, a women’s team tournament formerly called the Fed Cup, will be held in Shenzhen in September. Host nation China qualified automatically.

Six other finalists will be determined Saturday: defending champion Italy vs. Japan; Kazakhstan vs. Canada; Switzerland vs. Czech Republic; Slovenia vs. Spain; Belgium vs. United States; Poland vs. Ukraine.

The losing teams will compete in November’s Billie Jean King Cup Cup playoffs, which determines qualifiers for 2027.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

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