Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage produced a superb doubles performance to help Great Britain beat the Netherlands 2-1 and seal their place in September’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Boulter and Burrage, a late switch for doubles specialist Olivia Nicholls and Harriet Dart, beat Demi Schuurs and Suzan Lamens 6-2 6-2 on the clay.
Boulter had earlier suffered a 6-4 6-3 loss to Lamens, while Sonay Kartal won her singles match 6-4 4-6 6-1 against Eva Vedder.
Boulter jumped into the air after a Burrage ace confirmed their doubles victory, with the pair congratulating their opponents before heading over to celebrate with the team.
“Every captain wants a Katie Boulter on their team,” GB captain Anne Keothavong told BBC Sport.
“Katie, after the disappointment of her singles, responded remarkably well. It was always an option for us and they went out there and did the job.
“We knew doubles was going to be important this week – and I don’t think Katie has ever done so much doubles practice in her life.”
Boulter and Burrage were playing together for only the second time, having practised as a partnership in the build-up to the competition.
“We went out there and we gave it our all. We swung and that is what we wanted to do,” Burrage said.
“It was great to step on the court with Katie – good friends and good partners, I think.”
It is a credit to Boulter that she came out after a disappointing loss to world number 70 Lamens in the singles.
She and Burrage claimed an excellent win against the formidable Dutch pairing – Lamens was on a 13-match unbeaten run at the BJK Cup while veteran Schuurs had not lost a match for her country since 2022.
Boulter and Burrage played with aggression, targeting Schuurs’ serve in particular.
They hit 26 winners to 10 from the Netherlands, with Boulter cranking up her forehand in the deciding moments.
Schuurs was left in tears after the match, with her side now needing to compete in the play-offs to secure a place in the 2026 qualifiers.
Britain go on to compete at the eight-team Finals in Shenzhen, China from 16-21 September.
Kartal impresses on debut weekend
Kartal had earlier put Britain in a fine position with a gritty win over Vedder.
She came back from an early break down in the first set and should have done similar at the start of the second.
The Briton missed three break points against the world number 265 Vedder and was on the wrong end of an incorrect overrule of an out call by umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore at 4-3.
Had it not been overruled, Kartal would have had a break point. Instead, the point was replayed, Vedder held serve and then broke Kartal in the next game.
Vedder played her best tennis in the final two games of the second set, drawing errors out of Kartal before wrapping up the set with an ace.
The Briton put her frustration aside for the third set, quickly going a break up and putting her heavy forehand to good use to win the final five games in a row.
Victory for Boulter would have wrapped up the tie for GB, and the world number 40 was the favourite on paper.
However, it was Dutchwoman Lamens who looked more comfortable in sliding and moving around on the clay.
Boulter was always behind in the match, saving break points in the first game before going a double break down as her forehand misfired.
When Boulter connected, her power was too much for Lamens, but she could not consistently find her range, despite briefly threatening a comeback after rescuing one of the breaks in the opening set.
The Briton broke first in the second set, a nicely angled backhand forcing the error from Lamens, but she immediately surrendered the break with a wayward service game.
Lamens did not look back, reeling off three games in a row to complete victory.
