Great Britain aim for BJK Cup shock against star-studded Czech Republic

Great Britain will face the Czech Republic in the Billie Jean King Cup quarter-final in Shenzhen, China on Tuesday, with coverage from 10:00 BST on the BBC.

"It's best not to underestimate us," says a defiant Harriet Dart as the British side prepare for the tie; the visiting squad is made up of Dart, Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal, Mika Stojsavljevic and Jodie Burrage. Great Britain have reached the semi-finals in three of the past four seasons, while the Czechs arrive as 11-time champions and the only team at the Finals boasting two top-10 players.

The Czech top-10 pair are Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova, with Noskova the current Wimbledon champion and Muchova having been her opponent in this summer's all-Czech final. Those two provide the headline singles threat for the visitors.

Marie Bouzkova, 28, has claimed two WTA titles this year, including a win on the Nottingham grass, and Sara Bejlek, 20, has enjoyed a breakthrough season featuring a first title and victories over Aryna Sabalenka and Madison Keys. In doubles, Bouzkova and Noskova combined to win the Cincinnati title in August.

Katerina Siniakova is likely to feature for the Czechs as the current top-ranked women's doubles player and has 12 Grand Slams to her name. All five members of the Czech team are ranked higher in the singles rankings than any of the British squad.

Boulter, the current world number 54, acknowledged the mismatch on paper but outlined the British approach: "I think naturally we are definite underdogs," she told BBC Sport. By her own reckoning, the 2026 season has brought "an improvement" for Boulter, who won her fourth WTA title in Ostrava and defeated new world number one Elena Rybakina at Queen's in a year in which the Kazakh won the Australian and US Open crowns.

Boulter's recent meetings with Czech opponents have been difficult: she lost 6-3 7-5 to Muchova in Miami in March, suffered a more emphatic defeat to Muchova in the US Open second round earlier this month, "winning just one game", and lost 6-3 6-3 to Noskova in Cincinnati in August, although she beat Noskova in straight sets in Osaka in October 2025. "They are both incredible players, both extremely good at what they do," Boulter, 30, said. "They have been in places that I've never been before. So I think for me, it's about taking it to them. "Their base level is so high, you can't play the same way that you would normally play if you were to play someone ranked a lot lower. "I think you have to give them respect, but also play the ball that's coming at you at the same time. That's my challenge, to focus on the ball coming at me and try and impose my own game. "I think there are ways I'm going to try and win points, and that's through what I'm doing, not what they're doing."

Dart, who lost 6-2 6-2 to Bouzkova in the US Open second round, added: "I think even though the match-up on paper here is pretty rough for us, at the same time I know how well this team can play. "We have strong belief within ourselves and within our own team that we can do well in this competition." Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter return to the GB squad after missing the April victory in Melbourne that qualified Great Britain for Shenzhen — their fourth BJK Cup Finals in five years. Boulter and Kartal were among a list of absentees from that squad — including Emma Raducanu, who is again missing through injury — but the pair's return strengthens captain Anne Keothavong's side. "I think pressure is a privilege, isn't it? I think whoever you're drawn against in this competition, particularly when you've made it through to the Finals, there are no easy matches," said Keothavong. "We've seen over the years how people are able to rise to the occasion when they represent their nation. I've seen it from the players here beside me."

Should Great Britain produce an upset and beat the Czech Republic, they would next face the winner of the quarter-final between Kazakhstan — who are without Rybakina — and Spain on Friday.