GB miss out on BJK Cup final after 2-0 loss to US

Great Britain's wait for a first Billie Jean King Cup title goes on after they suffered a 2-0 loss to the United States in the semi-finals.

Katie Boulter needed to beat world number seven Jessica Pegula to keep Britain in the tie after a battling Sonay Kartal lost to Emma Navarro in the first singles match.

But after Boulter took the first set, Pegula fought back to win 3-6 6-4 6-2 and secure a 31st appearance in the final for Lindsay Davenport's team.

Both Boulter and Kartal - who lost 3-6 6-4 6-3 to Navarro, a player ranked more than 60 places above her - will be left to rue missed chances from two tight matches.

Great Britain have reached the semi-finals three times in the past four years but their most recent final appearance came in 1981.

The US, the most successful team in the competition's history with 18 titles, will face defending champions Italy in Sunday's final.

Boulter has an excellent record when representing Great Britain and, after taking the opening set against Pegula, an 18th win in 24 matches for her country beckoned.

The 29-year-old gave up few opportunities on her serve, winning 13 of her 15 first-serve points and saving the only break point she faced, while also twice breaking her opponent's serve.

But her standard dropped in the second set, with four double faults contributing to her lost back-to-back service games early on.

Although she responded on the first occasion with a break to love, she did not earn another break point until the 10th game - both of which she failed to convert as Pegula forced a decider.

The third setplayed out in frustratingly similar fashion for Boulter. Although she immediately recovered from having her serve broken in the third game, she had no answer to Pegula the second time around.

Pegula, runner-up at the 2024 US Open, stole the fifth game with consecutive passing shots and smash winners before holding to 15.

Boulter had her serve broken for a third time before Pegula converted her first match point to send the US through and compound a frustrating day for Great Britain.

This has been a breakout year for world number 82 Kartal, notably reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon, and after the first set-and-a-half of the opening singles tie, she was eyeing her third win of the year against a player ranked inside the top 20.

Despite the disparity in their rankings, she matched American world number 18 Navarro all the way, with both players winning 89 points.

However, the composure of Navarro, who saved two match points against Kazakhstan in the quarter-finals, to save two break points in the opening game of the third set proved crucial.

Kartal lost her opening service game but quickly banished any nerves, pouncing on a sloppy start from Navarro, who struggled with her serve and forehand, to win the next four games and take the first set.

She dominated their baseline exchanges, utilised her athleticism and the full width of the court to construct multiple winners, and converted all three of her break points. Her confidence was on full display when she chased down a drop shot before nailing a smashed winner to seal the set in style with a hold to love.

Kartal broke again at the start of the second set and again in the fifth game, but on both occasions, Navarro responded immediately. An increasingly error-prone Kartal then handed Navarro three set points – the second of which she took to level the match.

Momentum continued to swing in the final set, with the resilient Navarro surviving an early scare before the pair exchanged breaks midway through the decider.

However, when the American won eight consecutive points to take a 5-2 lead, Kartal was unable to mastermind a comeback of her own, with US captain Lindsay Davenport finally cracking a smile as Navarro converted her second match point.