BJK Cup run shows just how far British women’s tennis has come | Tumaini Carayol

The GB squad are into the finals for the second year running – a far cry from the early 2000s nadirThe turn of the millennium marked one of the most significant periods in the history of women’s tennis. An audacious, charismatic generation of young stars had stormed the tour, usurping the old leaders and transforming the image of the sport. On the biggest stages, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati and Anna Kournikova often generated more attention and higher TV ratings than their male counterparts. Some transcended the sport as global superstars.At the same time that women’s tennis was thriving around the world, it had reached a grim nadir on these shores. For years, not a single British woman reached the top 100. They competed almost exclusively on the lower-level ITF circuit, only making fleeting cameos on the tour through wildcards at Wimbledon and during the grass season. The Fed Cup team, meanwhile, was rooted to the zonal group stages, a world away from competing with the best teams. Women’s tennis has a rich history in Britain, particularly in the grand slam-winning era of Virginia Wade and Sue Barker, but by the early 2000s Britain was completely irrelevant on the WTA Tour. Continue reading...