Naomi Cavaday
Former British tennis player on BBC Red Button

This was a big game for Sonay Kartal. She needed to get on the board and get the scoreboard moving to stay up with Niemeier.

It is quite a slippery clay court out there, it's very dry and there is a lot of movement as you move around and the ball bounces.

Her first game will feel awfully good.

Better from Sonay Kartal and she gets her first ever BJK Cup game on the board.

She still trails by a break but that will feel good to get on the board.

Image source, Getty Images

Straightforward stuff for Jule Niemeier to take a comfortable hold to love, putting the serve and volley to good use to seal it.

Naomi Cavaday
Former British tennis player on BBC Red Button

An excellent point from Jule Niemeier - that's how you play on the clay.

That drop shot doesn't have to be a winner but it just dragged Sonay Kartal out of position.

She got plenty of height over the net, knowing that she was going to get the bite off the court, and there was just no recovery for Kartal.

These two have never faced each other before so a couple of breaks of serve is probably expected as they size each other up.

Sonay Kartal saves break point but comes into the net at deuce and misjudges the forehand, sending it long to give Jule Niemeier another opportunity.

A brilliant cross-court backhand seals an early break of serve for the German team.

Image source, Getty Images

Bit of a nervy start for Sonay Kartal on her BJK Cup debut as she sends a forehand long then another one wide and hands Jule Niemeier a break point opportunity.

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Away we go on the indoor clay in the Netherlands. Sonay Kartal gets us started.

* denotes server.

Germany began their qualifying campaign on Thursday, losing 3-0 to the Netherlands.

Dutch player Eva Vedder beat German Jule Niemeier before Suzan Lamens overcame Tatjana Maria.

The German pair of Laura Siegemund and Anna-Lena Friedsam were also beaten in the doubles rubber by Suzan Lamens and Demi Schuurs.

Sonay Kartal will get Great Britain's BJK Cup qualifying campaign under way on her debut.

Kartal is competing a year after a health issue meant she had to watch GB's qualifier against France from afar.

After three months out, the 23-year-old staged an impressive comeback, breaking into the top 100 and winning a WTA title on her way to a current career-high ranking of 60.

"It'll be a really proud moment for me - having the opportunity to play for your country is the greatest honour," Kartal said.

"There are a few goals in my career that stand out more than others and this is one of them."

Image source, Getty Images

Here's the line-up of today's matches:

• Sonay Kartal v Jule Niemeier
• Katie Boulter v Tatjana Maria
• Olivia Nicholls & Harriet Dart v Laura Siegemund & Anna-Lena Friedsam

Emma Raducanu withdrew from the BJK Cup, saying she wanted to "look after her body" after her Miami Open quarter-final run in March.

The British number two has competed in seven tournaments so far this year - the most she has played in the first three months of a season.

The 22-year-old, who climbed back into the world's top 50 this week, needed medical attention before losing to fourth seed Jessica Pegula in Miami.

"Obviously it's disappointing we don't have her on this team, but I totally understand what she needs to do,” Anne Keothavong said of Emma Raducanu's absence.

"A player has got to do what a player has got to do - what is best for them.

"She has given a lot to this team and she may not be with us this time round but I hope in the future she will be."

Image source, Getty Images

Great Britain captain Anne Keothavong says the lack of top-20 players at the Billie Jean King Cup is "a tennis problem, not a player problem".

Only three of the world's top-20 will compete in this week's qualifying rounds, with Poland's Iga Swiatek and American trio Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Madison Keys among those absent.

World number two Swiatek withdrew last week, saying she needed time to "focus on myself and my training".

"It's tough for every nation to put out their best players in each tie,” Keothavong told BBC Sport in The Hague, where Britain are in a group with Germany and the Netherlands.

"The calendar just makes it so difficult for players, so I'm empathetic as to how they are.

"The tennis circuit is brutal - you go from one week to the next and there's not much time to rest and recover.

"You have got to try and pick and choose your moments, but it's not a player problem - it's a tennis problem.

"One of these days maybe everyone can figure out a solution and work together."

One solution is to play the Finals earlier in the season - and as Keothavong was speaking it was confirmed they will take place from 16-21 September, rather than the traditional November date.

Katie Boulter leads the British team, who are without Emma Raducanu after she withdrew from the squad to "look after her body".

Boulter is joined by Sonay Kartal, Harriet Dart, Jodie Burrage and doubles specialist Olivia Nicholls.

Image source, Getty Images

The Billie Jean King Cup is back and well under way with the qualifying matches.

Great Britain travel to the Hague in the Netherlands for the a round-robin event, with the top team advancing to September's eight-team finals in Shenzhen, China.

The remaining two teams will compete in the play-offs to secure a place in the 2026 qualifiers.

Anne Keothavong's side are in Group F along with the Netherlands and Germany.

The tournament is usually held in November but has been brought forward to the start of the WTA Tour's Asian swing.

Britain reached the semi-finals last year, losing to eventual runners-up Slovakia, and will hope to go one better this time.

First up on that journey, Germany...

Image source, Getty Images