A new British tennis star may have just emerged at the Billie Jean King Cup

Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup squad was hit hard by withdrawals before their tie against Australia, leaving them to face a tough opponent with a short-handed team.

Emma Raducanu pulled out first, followed by Katie Boulter, Fran Jones and Sonay Kartal, further weakening the British lineup.

On the other side, Australia named a strong team featuring in-form Talia Gibson and rising talent Emerson Jones, making the challenge even steeper for Great Britain. Despite being clear underdogs on paper, the tie took an unexpected turn early on.

BJ King Cup: Annabelle Lammas shocks by beating Daria Saville to give GB early lead

The early momentum came from 16-year-old Annabelle Lammas, who stunned Australian world number 91 Daria Saville in straight sets. Despite Lammas’ ranking of 1,217 in the world at that time she delivered a calm and composed performance to win 6-3 7-5.

Saville looked comfortable early on when she went up an early break but Lammas kept her nerve throughout as she levelled things up before eventually breaking again to take the opening set. The second set was much closer with both players struggling on serve but Lammas managed to string together consecutive games late on as she sealed one of the biggest wins of her young career so far.

Billie Jean King Cup stage feels the arrival of Mika Stojsavljevic

Mika Stojsavljevic was handed her Billie Jean King Cup debut after stepping in for some of Great Britain’s top names.

The 17-year-old didn’t seem fazed by the occasion, taking down Gibson in straight sets to put Great Britain ahead.

Gibson has been playing well lately, making the quarter-finals at Indian Wells and reaching the last 16 in Miami.

Stojsavljevic, currently ranked 275th in the world, sits over 200 spots below Gibson in the WTA rankings.

After her win, Stojsavljevic spoke to Tennis Australia:

Stojsavljevic will face Kimberly Birrell next as she aims to keep up her strong run for Great Britain.

Britain take a shock 2-0 lead in BJK Cup tie against Australia

Great Britain got a boost in their Billie Jean King Cup campaign with another strong showing in Melbourne.

Harriet Dart upset Birrell with a three-set win, moving her team within one match of securing their place in the next round.

Dart took down Birrell 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, battling through breaks of serve and inconsistent stretches on serve over more than two hours.

With doubles and reverse singles still to play, Great Britain have now shifted from underdogs to favourites.

The winner will advance to September’s finals in Shenzhen, China, scheduled for the 22nd through the 27th.

Right now, only the host nation has secured a spot. The remaining seven places will be filled through these qualifiers.

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