A month after criticizing the structure of the Fed Cup, Judy Murray has resigned as the captain of the British Fed Cup team.
Murray has been the captain of the British team since December 2011. Under her captaincy, she has guided her team to 14 victories out of 21. The British team currently competes in group I of the Fed Cup, three stages below the world group. This year they defeated Georgia and South Africa to reach the promotional playoffs. In the playoffs, they succumbed to a 2-0 loss to Belgium. The loss means that the British team will not play another tie until next February, a format which Murray is very critical of.
“The format doesn’t really lend itself to building any momentum for women’s team tennis if you play four days in February and then you don’t play again until the following February.” A fed-up Murray told the media last month.
It is understood that the recent birth of her grandchild has contributed to Murray’s decision to step down after she previously said that she would like to spend more time with her family.
Britain hasn’t played in the world group of the competition since 1993. Despite their long absence from the world group, the country currently has three players ranked inside the top-80 in the world.
Johanna Konta is at a career ranking best of 26th in the world. The Australian-born Brit reached the semifinals of the Australian Open at the start of the year, becoming the first British woman reach the last four of a Grand Slam since Jo Durie at the 1983 US Open. Heather Watson has risen 31 places this week to 53rd in the world after winning the Monterrey Open. Finally, world No.76 Naomi Broady has enjoyed a promising start to 2016. After winning a $100,000 ITF title in Maryland, USA, stunned Sabine Lisicki to reach the semifinals of the Malaysian Open.
There are yet to be any details concerning who may take over from Murray, however, the BBC has named former player Anne Keothavong as a possible replacement. The 32-year-old reached a ranking best of 48th in 2009 and represented her country in the Fed Cup for 12 years.
