Great Britain miss out on Billie Jean King Cup Finals spot as Caroline Garcia and France claim victory

Great Britain's chances of qualifying for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals are over after Harriet Dart's loss to Caroline Garcia in their decisive best-of-five qualifier. Dart, who was the highest-ranked British player in the absence of Emma Raducanu, was beaten 6-1 6-7(10) 6-1 by Garcia, which gave France an insurmountable 3-0 lead. Ad As a consequence of this elimination, Britain must now compete in a play-off to secure a spot in the 2024 qualifiers.

ATP Monte Carlo'I'm not a tennis fan!' — Fury chats to Eurosport's Robson at Monte Carlo Masters42 MINUTES AGO Another defeat in November's qualifier would see Britain demoted to the Group I stage of the competition, the level below the top world tier. Despite the setback, British captain Anne Keothavong was proud of her players and encouraged them to carry the positive aspects of their performance into their upcoming tournaments. Britain had a difficult challenge against France, who had much stronger rankings and pedigree.

Their only advantage was playing at home, but the team lost two close singles matches in Coventry on Friday, which included five tie-breaks and fine margins, leaving Keothavong to describe sport as being «brutal». Dart was back on court about 18 hours after her loss to Alize Cornet, knowing that she had to win to keep Britain's hopes alive. Despite her fighting spirit, Dart was unable to match Garcia's service game and eventually lost in three sets.

Speaking after the match, Dart was making no excuses. She said: «It's a short turnaround and it's not usually like that, when you lose your tournament is done. Physically, I felt good and I was ready to play.