Fed Cup 2019: Great Britain team, UK TV channel information, time, schedule and more

A sell-out crowd is expected in Bath for the first Fed Cup tie on home soil for 26 years

Ben Burrows
Wednesday 06 February 2019 10:33 EST
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Great Britain play on home soil in the Fed Cup for the first time in 26 years
Great Britain play on home soil in the Fed Cup for the first time in 26 years (Getty Images for LTA)

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A sell-out crowd is expected at the University of Bath for the first Fed Cup tie on home soil for 26 years.

Britain last featured at home in Nottingham back in 1993 and are aiming to win promotion back up to the World Group II, having suffered numerous defeats at the play-off stage. In April 2018, they were beaten in the deciding rubber by Japan.

Here's everything you need to know:

Who's playing for Great Britain?

Anne Keothavong's squad comes from the top five ranked British players - number one Johanna Konta, along with Heather Watson, 19-year-old Katie Swan and Katie Boulter while Harriet Dart will make her Fed Cup debut.

Who are Great Britain playing?

Slovenia are the first opponents in Group A at 4.30pm on February 6, followed by Greece on Thursday and then Hungary on Friday.

What's the format?

The eight teams are split into two groups of four.

There is little recovery time between ties, which consist of two singles and a doubles match, spread over three days, with the eventual group winners facing each other to secure a shot at the World Group II playoffs

Is it on TV?

The World Group and World Group II ties are being shown via Fed Cup TV. The Group I matches, including Great Britain's, are being broadcast on BT Sport 2.

What is Great Britain's Fed Cup record like?

Britain have been stuck in the third tier of women's tennis since 1993.

They have come up short in both 2012 and 2013, as well as 2017 and then again against Japan last year, having at one stage led the tie 2-1.

Keothavong leads Great Britain
Keothavong leads Great Britain (Getty)

What are people saying?

Despite the lift of playing in front of a partisan home crowd, Keothavong accepts it will be another case of win or bust.

"There is no room for mistakes, it is pretty straightforward - beat every nation you are up against and you go through. Lose and there's nothing for another year," Keothavong said in an interview with BBC Sport.

"Mentally it's tough on the players, coming out each day, the recovery, doing it all over again.

"Intensity levels are high, pressure is high, you just can't underestimate any of those factors. It's a brutal format."

Additional reporting by PA

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