Anne Keothavong has been confirmed as the new British Fed Cup captain following the resignation of Judy Murray.
Murray guided the team for almost five years before ending her role in March this year to focus more on her family commitments. The British team currently plays in the Europe/Africa zone group 1 of the Fed Cup. This year they enjoyed wins over Georgia and South Africa, but lost to Belgium in the promotion playoff.
New captain Keothavong was a key member to the team during her tennis career, playing in 40 ties. The former top 50 player participated in the tournament for 12 years (2001-2013) and achieved a win-loss of 22-22.
“I’m delighted and honoured to accept this position in the sport that I love. What a privilege it’s been to see all the British success on the court over the last couple of years, especially this last 12 months.” Keothavong said in a statement.
The nomination of the 33-year-old has been supported by British No.1 and world No.10 Johanna Konta, who noted the importance of being lead be somebody who have had experience in playing the Fed Cup.
“I think Anne is a great choice as our next [Aegon] GB Fed Cup captain. She will lead from real life experience because she was a winner on court and she knew what it took to step up and play for her country. I wish her the best and look forward to the 2017 campaign.” Said Konta.
As part of her new role, Keothavong will travel to the Australian Open in January in preparation for her first test as captain. The British team will travel to Estonia in February to play in the Europe/Africa zone group 1 competition for the 13th consecutive year.
Great Britain currently has three female players ranked in the world’s top 100. Earlier this year Konta became the first Brit to break into the top ten on the WTA Rankings since Jo Durie in August 1984. Following Konta is Heather Watson at 76th and Naomi Broady at 88th.
Four times a runner-up between 1967-1981, Great Britain hasn’t played in the world group of the Fed Cup since 1993.
Anne Keothavong profile
Age: 33
Ranking high: 48 (February 2009)
WTA titles: 0
ITF titles: 20 (most significant being the $100,000+H Krakow Open)
Best grand slam performance: 2008 US Open R3
