Billie Jean King Cup 2022: GB draw Czech Republic in qualifying round

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, GB team captain Anne Keothavong (right) led them back to the World Group after four defeats

Great Britain have drawn 11-time champions Czech Republic in the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup qualifying round.

Great Britain have never won the competition - formerly known as the Fed Cup - but are four-time runners-up.

The Czechs currently have two top-five players in Barbora Krejcikova and Karolina Pliskova, as well as the two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.

The winners of the tie, which will take place in April, will qualify for the 2022 finals.

Britain's highest-ranked player, US Open champion Emma Raducanu, has previously been a hitting partner for the team but will be expected to make her playing debut alongside stalwarts Johanna Konta, Heather Watson and Katie Boulter.

Boulter's heroics helped put Great Britain back into the World Group in 2019, and she was pivotal in the victory over Mexico in the play-offs in April, winning both of her singles matches.

The last time Britain reached the final was in 1981. Along with France, Australia and Italy, they are the only nations to have competed in every year of the tournament.