.......and look after the hat!!!

a little behind here because of serious laptop problems but just to add

congratulations to Katie firstly on being picked for the team and as the reporters have said excellent play in her matches. maybe the best level to start her fed cup play. well done to the other ladies too and commiserations on not going further this year.

Miriambee wrote:

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Coup Droit wrote:

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I like the idea of the Americans are doing, holding a junior training camp, at the Fed Cup venue, as a way of getting the promising youngsters involved:

"KAILUA-KONA, HI., February 4, 2016 The USTA today announced that four top junior players are taking part in USTA Player Developments Fed Cup camp, which is held alongside the United States Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group II First Round tie vs. Poland, February 6-7, at the Holua Tennis Center in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

Usue Arconada (age 17; College Park, Md.), Kayla Day (age 16; Santa Barbara, Calif.), Caroline Dolehide (age 17; Hinsdale, Ill.), and Claire Liu (age 15; Thousand Oaks, Calif.) are all participating in the camp, an opportunity traditionally held in conjunction with Fed Cup ties in the U.S.

The camp is an opportunity for some of Americas top young players to train with one another, as well as practice and interact with the U.S. Fed Cup Team of Captain Mary Joe Fernandez, Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, CoCo Vandeweghe, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands. USTA National Coach Kathy Rinaldi and guest coach Marianne Werdel are running the camp."

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 Venus is top seed in Taipei, so she won't be there!

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No idea about Taipei but Venus did turn up for Fed Cup duty - played two singles, won two singles.

She's a class act, that lady.

WavenNarsam wrote:

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A very tough tie against Serbia would have awaited the girls if they made it to the WG2 playoffs.

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I don't understand when people can make these sort of statements. If we'd had been in the draw instead of Belgium who knows how life would have panned out. 

Well iff everything had preceded exactly as it did other than GB's name being in a particular ball instead of Belgium's or however they do it ( and we would have been a non seed like Belgium ) from what order the balls get dropped into the bag, bowl, everything ...

I think I can sympathise with what WN is getting at; all other things being equal (and that's a metaphysical discussion right there!) we would be playing Serbia instead of Belgium doing so and that would be a tough ask; however, it has to be said that I would rather we were playing Serbia than not!