Katie Boulter feels she has come “full circle” as she prepares to steer Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup crew on this weekend’s play-off in opposition to Sweden on the Copper Box.
It was on the identical venue 4 and a half years in the past that Boulter secured victory over Kazakhstan to place Britain again on the elite stage of the competitors previously generally known as Fed Cup.
But she suffered a stress fracture in her again that saved her out for greater than six months and despatched her rating plummeting out of the highest 100.
It has taken till this 12 months for Boulter to get again to and now surpass that stage, and at 58 on the planet she is by a long way the highest-ranked participant within the tie.
“It really was something that stuck in my memory for many, many years,” mentioned Boulter of the Kazakhstan conflict.
“But I think I see the positives and the negatives of that tie. I really do. And I learned a lot from the situation that I was in, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.
“It’s a full circle for me. I’m glad to be back here, and I don’t think I’d be in the position I am right now if it wasn’t for that tie. So I’m glad to be back here with a great team behind me.”
Boulter has been sharing her reminiscences of that weekend together with her good pal Jodie Burrage, who will make a long-awaited debut within the competitors.
Burrage, ranked 93, has been unfortunate to overlook out in earlier ties, and he or she mentioned: “I’ve absolutely loved this week. The vibe’s been great. I’m really happy that (captain) Anne (Keothavong) has trusted me to play tomorrow and I will go out there and do my absolute best to come away with the win.
“It’s just a really proud moment for me, walking out on the court tomorrow, but once I get that done then it’ll be all down to business. Playing at home as well in this arena, the girls told me that this is one of the best places that they have played, so I can’t wait to experience that tomorrow.”
This time final 12 months Britain have been on their solution to a historic semi-final look within the competitors having been given a wild card for the ultimate levels as hosts in Glasgow.
Defeat by France in Coventry in April meant they missed out this 12 months they usually should beat Sweden to have one other shot at qualifying in 2024.
Anything however victory could be a catastrophe given the guests are with out their solely two top-200 gamers in Rebecca Peterson and Mirjam Bjorklund, who each withdrew by way of damage.
Instead, they’re counting on world quantity 372 Kajsa Rinaldo Persson, who will tackle Burrage first up on Saturday, and 532nd-ranked Caijsa Hennemann.
Keothavong insisted there will likely be no complacency, saying: “There’s absolutely no room for that, and I think we’ve seen in this competition that anything’s possible. This team need to go out there and impose themselves. You can’t underestimate anyone out there.
“These are the kinds of ties we want, on home soil with a full house. The players know what they need to do and hopefully they’re going to go out there tomorrow and execute it.
“I think all of us collectively are motivated to get back into the world group because we know what we’re capable of as a team. When we come together, we really do rise to the challenge.”
Meanwhile, Britain’s junior Billie Jean King Cup crew reached the semi-finals of the under-16 competitors with a 3-0 victory over Sweden and can play the Czech Republic for a spot within the remaining.
At the senior finals in Seville, the Czech Republic defeated the USA in a heavyweight conflict to ebook their passage by way of to the final 4.
Danielle Collins defeated Katerina Siniakova to present the US the lead however Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova simply noticed off Sofia Kenin and Siniakova and Barbora Krejcikova claimed the deciding doubles.
The Czechs will face Canada on Saturday whereas shock packages Slovenia and Italy meet within the different semi-final.
