Billie Jean King Cup Play-offs - GB vs Mexico 16-17th April 2021

the addict · Tennis legend

Billie Jean King Cup Play-offs - GB vs Mexico 16-17th April 2021

indiana · Tennis legend

Samson wrote:
Well job done! So pleased for the team. But next year will be tough for sure!

Yes, then the captain's choices will likely be much more important to give us a chance.

PaulM · Tennis legend

Katie looked really comfortable today. Even when Olmos was making it difficult you never felt it could slip away. Lovely to see.

Well done team. Avoiding the zonal playoffs and hopefully another home tie.

Babfive · Satellite level

Brilliant to come through this tie. Although that always looked the most likely outcome, it's never won until it's won.

indiana · Tennis legend

Giuliana Olmos WR 434 (CH 343). If we weren't putting out a couple of players who could deal comfortably with her there would be something far wrong.

As said, job done, but it was a great tie to get, especially switched to home and with Mexico without their #1 ranked singles player.

Samson · Lower Club Player

A lot will depend on Jo and her form but hopefully the rest of the team who are lower ranked can keep pushing on up with their rankings so that Anne has easy choices to make. Its so tough at this level. It will be interesting to see who GB are drawn against.

flamingowings · All-time great

Coup Droit wrote:
Yep, as before, I think Anne K is terrible conservative in her choices, and her whole attitude towards the LTA.

She was on that LTA Committee, I seem to remember, and has certainly recently been nominated to be on the Board of Directors, and on the Wimbledon Committee. This is all high profile as the only BAME representative and all the flack they've been getting.

IMO, she has never spoken up about any of the problems at the LTA, just seems to toe the line.

And I think her approach to Fed Cup is the same - take no risk, go for the established party line.

She might well have been under a certain pressure from Bates to select Katie (only said 'might', no idea, just a possibility). And choosing Hev as number one is an obvious, easy choice. You feel you can't be criticised. Even if the wrong choice.

On that note, Heather is the only BAME player on this team.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

And Heather has no qualms in speaking her mind

dodrade · Satellite level

PaulM wrote:
Katie looked really comfortable today. Even when Olmos was making it difficult you never felt it could slip away. Lovely to see.

Well done team. Avoiding the zonal playoffs and hopefully another home tie.

Great to see Katie B save the day after Heather dropped the ball, she really does seem to raise her game for GB.

Didn't realise the next round isn't until next year.

-- Edited by dodrade on Sunday 18th of April 2021 12:32:45 AM

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

So how does it work? Im trying to read it through and have sort of guessed that the 8 play off winners from this weekend go into the 2022 qualifying round? Later this year, the 12 top world teams play the finals in Budapest. 4 of those reach the semis from their groups and in doing so qualify for 2022 finals again. The 8 teams that play this years finals but dont reach the semis join GB and the other 7 play offs winners in a 16 team qualifying round to be played presumably this time next year ? The 8 winners from those 16 teams (playing home and away matches ) join the 4 2021 semi finalists in the 12 team 2022 field? The 8 losers of those 16 teams go down to play in regionals and a chance to battle back up to the same stage in 2023?

Is that correct or have I over simplified it or mixed it all up?!

edit - so if we had lost this weekend, wed have gone down to a regional event to play to join this same stage next season?

-- Edited by JonH comes home on Sunday 18th of April 2021 06:55:24 AM

RedSquirrel · Satellite level

Almost.

Finals week
2 Finalists and next years host nation: automatically qualify for next years finals week
Pos 3 to 12, excluding next years host nation and next years wild card: qualify for next years qualifiers

Qualifiers
8 winning qualifiers: progress to current years finals week
8 losing qualifiers: play in current years play offs

Play offs
8 play-off winners: play in next years qualifiers
8 play-off losers: relegated to Group I regions

Regions
8 Group I region winners (4 Europe, 2 Asia/Oceania, 2 Americas) promoted to current years play-offs

-- Edited by RedSquirrel on Sunday 18th of April 2021 07:54:59 AM

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

RedSquirrel wrote:
Almost.

Finals week
2 Finalists and next years host nation: automatically qualify for next years finals week
Pos 3 to 12, excluding next years host nation and next years wild card: qualify for next years qualifiers

Qualifiers
8 winning qualifiers: progress to current years finals week
8 losing qualifiers: play in current years play offs

Play offs
8 play-off winners: play in next years qualifiers
8 play-off losers: relegated to Group I regions

Regions
8 Group I region winners (4 Europe, 2 Asia/Oceania, 2 Americas) promoted to current years play-offs

-- Edited by RedSquirrel on Sunday 18th of April 2021 07:54:59 AM

Ok, cool. So if positions 3 to 12 ( ie 9 or 10 teams depending on hosts for next season , if they go into next years qualifiers, how do the 8 winners of the play offs make that into 16 teams? Itll be 17 or 18? I get the structure, just struggled with the maths !?

edit - presumably Im missing the wildcard?!

-- Edited by JonH comes home on Sunday 18th of April 2021 08:06:29 AM

RedSquirrel · Satellite level

JonH comes home wrote:

RedSquirrel wrote:
Almost.

Finals week
2 Finalists and next years host nation: automatically qualify for next years finals week
Pos 3 to 12, excluding next years host nation and next years wild card: qualify for next years qualifiers

Qualifiers
8 winning qualifiers: progress to current years finals week
8 losing qualifiers: play in current years play offs

Play offs
8 play-off winners: play in next years qualifiers
8 play-off losers: relegated to Group I regions

Regions
8 Group I region winners (4 Europe, 2 Asia/Oceania, 2 Americas) promoted to current years play-offs

-- Edited by RedSquirrel on Sunday 18th of April 2021 07:54:59 AM
Ok, cool. So if positions 3 to 12 ( ie 9 or 10 teams depending on hosts for next season , if they go into next years qualifiers, how do the 8 winners of the play offs make that into 16 teams? Itll be 17 or 18? I get the structure, just struggled with the maths !?

I wondered that too. Finals week includes one country selected as a WC so I assume to balance things out in the qualifiers that they'll pick one of those nations to be the WC. If a finalist would also qualify as host nation then there will be an additional WC for finals week.

dodrade · Satellite level

RedSquirrel wrote:
JonH comes home wrote:

RedSquirrel wrote:
Almost.

Finals week
2 Finalists and next years host nation: automatically qualify for next years finals week
Pos 3 to 12, excluding next years host nation and next years wild card: qualify for next years qualifiers

Qualifiers
8 winning qualifiers: progress to current years finals week
8 losing qualifiers: play in current years play offs

Play offs
8 play-off winners: play in next years qualifiers
8 play-off losers: relegated to Group I regions

Regions
8 Group I region winners (4 Europe, 2 Asia/Oceania, 2 Americas) promoted to current years play-offs

-- Edited by RedSquirrel on Sunday 18th of April 2021 07:54:59 AM
Ok, cool. So if positions 3 to 12 ( ie 9 or 10 teams depending on hosts for next season , if they go into next years qualifiers, how do the 8 winners of the play offs make that into 16 teams? Itll be 17 or 18? I get the structure, just struggled with the maths !?

I wondered that too. Finals week includes one country selected as a WC so I assume to balance things out in the qualifiers that they'll pick one of those nations to be the WC. If a finalist would also qualify as host nation then there will be an additional WC for finals week.

Any chance of GB getting the WC?

PaulM · Tennis legend

Not unless we host it, and I don't see any justification for us receiving one.