Billie Jean King Cup 2026: Sonay Kartal & Harriet Dart to lead GB team against Australia
• 3 minute read
The Lexus GB Billie Jean King Cup team has been announced for the upcoming qualifier tie against Australia from 10-11 April at the John Cain Arena in Melbourne.
GB Captain Anne Keothavong has named a squad of four players, including Sonay Kartal, Harriet Dart, Jodie Burrage and for the first time, 17-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic.
A fifth member of the team can be added closer to the tie.
The Brits will be looking to return to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in September, where they reached the semi-finals last year.
"Playing away from home against a strong nation like Australia is going to be tough but we always embrace these weeks together as a team and will be up for the challenge in Melbourne," said Keothavong.
"We've got players with great experience in this competition in our team and it's an exciting opportunity for Mika to join the senior team for the first time. It's an iconic sporting venue and we'd really love for all the Brits in Melbourne to come along and cheer us on in April."
Standing in their way of a place in the Finals will be an Australian side that includes Maya Joint, Talia Gibson, Kimberly Birrell, Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez.
The tie will be played as best of five matches – including four singles and one doubles rubber.
Tickets are still available for British fans looking to back the Brits in Melbourne.
Lexus GB Billie Jean King Cup team vs Australia
- Sonay Kartal
- Harriet Dart
- Mika Stojsavljevic
- Jodie Burrage
Sonay Kartal
- Age: 24
- Ranking: 54
- Billie Jean King Cup ties played: 4
- Billie Jean King Cup record: 3-1
Kartal will lead the team as the highest ranked player in the Lexus GB Billie Jean King Cup squad. The 24-year-old made her debut in the competition last year and played a key role in helping the team in reaching the semi-finals.
The young Brit won both her singles rubbers against Germany and Netherlands in qualifying, before also recording a victory over Ena Shibahara of Japan in the quarter-finals. Kartal then went head-to-head with former top 10 star Emma Navarro, narrowly losing out in three sets.
2025 was a stand out year overall for Kartal. She reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, her first WTA 1000 quarter-final and recorded her first top five victory against Mirra Andreeva.
Kartal is also coming off the back of an impressive run in Indian Wells, becoming the first British woman to reach the fourth round twice with wins over Navarro and former Australian Open champion Madison Keys.
Now back representing her country on the big stage, Kartal will once again have a significant part to play if Great Britain are to secure a place in Shenzhen.
Harriet Dart
- Age: 29
- Ranking: 162
- Billie Jean King Cup ties played: 10
- Billie Jean King Cup record: 6/8
Dart has been one of the core members of the Billie Jean King Cup team for several years and has recorded some amazing performances when representing her country.
Her highlight came in 2022, where she defeated former world No.2 Paula Badosa and Wimbledon quarter-finalist Ajla Tomljanovic at the Finals in Glasgow.
The 29-year-old has been in strong form over recent months, going back to October. After making the WTA 125 Tampico semi-finals, she went on to win the W75 Toronto to close out the season. So far in 2026, she’s reached two more ITF finals at the W100 Fujairah and W75 Porto.
Dart is also a strong threat in the doubles game, where she has previously won two WTA 125 events as well as the W100 Fujairah this year.
Mika Stojsavljevic
- Age: 17
- Ranking: 284
- Billie Jean King Cup ties played: N/A
- Billie Jean King Cup record: N/A
17-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic is one of the rising stars in British tennis. The London-native made headlines in 2024 after becoming the first British player to win the US Open girls’ singles title in 15 years.
Since then, Stojsavljevic has gone from strength-to-strength. Last year, she won the Lexus British Pro Series Birmingham title and made the final of the Lexus Shrewsbury Open and W100 Dubai – rising inside the world’s top 300.
Supported by the LTA Pro Scholarship Programme, presented by Lexus, Stojsavljevic is joining up with the team for the first time in Melbourne and will be hoping to make her debut up against this Australian side.
Jodie Burrage
- Age: 26
- Ranking: 448
- Billie Jean King Cup ties played: 2
- Billie Jean King Cup record: 1-1
Burrage is on the comeback from a spell on the sidelines, having not played a match since September.
The British star is a former top 100 player and has an aggressive game style that can cause damage against any opponent. Burrage is a former WTA finalist at the Lexus Nottingham Open in 2023 and won the biggest title of her career the following year at the W100 Dubai.
Burrage joined the Billie Jean King Cup team for a second time last year, combining with Katie Boulter in a deciding doubles match against Netherlands. Burrage and Boulter defeated Suzan Lamens and Demi Schuurs to secure GB’s place in the Finals.
