British Tennis Forum - Celebrating 20 Years!

sammmm · County player

Week 38 - 2026 Billie Jean King Cup Finals - Shenzhen, China ( incl. Melbourne qualifier )

markymc1983 · Club Coach

Boulter just awful these days. We have no chance when shes our number 1
In the team

JonH · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
JonH wrote:
indiana wrote:
the addict wrote:
Order of play (as seen on Jodie's insta !)

Sonay Kartal v Marie Bouzkova
Katie Boulter v Linda Noskova
Jodie/Harriet v Siniakova/Muchova
Yes Jodie, difficult to believe isn't it?
didnt Jodie do well in doubles though in an earlier round or some events this year? only other option is Mika, or playing Katie back to back with her singles.

-- Edited by JonH on Tuesday 22nd of September 2026 10:34:39 AM
Jodie & Harriet did indeed beat Hunter & Perez (AUS) CR 37 in April. Great win at the time but I still think it's a nonsense here if Maia was available

Not going to matter anyway, tbh!

the addict · Tennis legend

For the record

Sonay Kartal (GBR) WR127 lost to Marie Bouzkova (CZE) WR26 (2)6-7 6-4 4-6

Katie Boulter (GBR) WR54 lost to Linda Noskova (CZE) WR6 2-6 (3)6-7

indiana · Tennis legend

I didn't see any of it but taking Linda Noskova to a TB does on the face of it look a pretty good effort.

From anyone who watched it, how did the match develop?

Jan · Hall of fame

I've been out, so couldn't watch. But that looks like a good first match back for Sonay, really, and Katie's scoreline could have been much worse. I know GB lost, but the ranking differences really meant a win was very unlikely, sadly.

seagull · Tennis legend

Sonay played really well...very encouraging after so long out.

sammmm · County player

As seagull says Sonay played very well and looked to be moving really well and able to be aggressive, Bouzkova just ground it out in the latter half of the decider but it was really close

Var · Challenger level

Overall they made more of a fight of it than I was expecting against potential favourites. Echo Sonays impressive return. She does seem to do injury recovery and rehab better than some of our players. Good to have her back. Katie will be hoping to pick up points during th Asian swing, whereas I suspect we wont see Emma until Aussie Open.

-- Edited by Var on Tuesday 22nd of September 2026 07:39:31 PM

goldfish · Futures level

Katie 's serving was pretty poor in the first set. Once she'd remembered how big the court was, she made a good match of it.

HarryGem · County player

indiana wrote:
I didn't see any of it but taking Linda Noskova to a TB does on the face of it look a pretty good effort.

From anyone who watched it, how did the match develop?

Well it began as badly as it could with Katie losing the first 4 games and looking all at sea. Though she lost the first set her level improved and they each won 7 games each in a row. Katie played at quite a decent level in the second set but Noskova had a great serving day and basically won all the points that really mattered. It was always going to be a struggle after losing the first 4 games but I'd say Katie actually played some of the best tennis she's played in the second set in the last few weeks. Just beaten by a better player on the day.

Sonay was fantastic for someone who hasn't played for so long. She looked fresh and fit throughout and didn't seem to tire until perhaps the last few games. She lost because Bouzkova raised her level for 2 or 3 games a the end of the match and played at a very high level which Sonay couldn't match. High quality match with some very good rallies. I think Sonay could be GB No.1 this time next year if she can stay fit. She plays with a resilience and determination our other women can't quite match.

indiana · Tennis legend

Thanks HarryGem.

the addict · Tennis legend

The Czech Republic won the cup, not surprisingly, without losing a match - and Sonay was the only player to take a set off them.

sammmm · County player

That further highlights just how well Sonay played to push Bouzkova to the limit in her first match back after being out for months

indiana · Tennis legend

sammmm wrote:
That further highlights just how well Sonay played to push Bouzkova to the limit in her first match back after being out for months

Yes, very encouraging to see her come back like that. She departed our gaze, having been in such great form in Indian Wells, and then rocks up here 6 months later with such a performance.

As I indicated before, I think she was possibly very well grooved in practice, ultimately waiting for her PR/SR to kick in. But still very impressive so lacking in match play and at such an event