The message from the first day of the Billie Jean King Cup playoffs between Great Britain and Sweden at the Copper Box Arena in London could not have been clearer: the rankings are so often not important.
Great Britain had been heavily favoured to win every rubber in a match against a depleted team that lacked their top two players due to injury. Instead, it was 1-1 after the first day. In the opening rubber, Jodie Burrage suffered a brutal 6-4, 6-1 defeat against Kajsa Rinaldo Persson, losing 12 of the last 13 games to the No 372-ranked Swede. Despite the early setback, Katie Boulter quickly levelled the tie by easing past Caijsa Wilda Hennemann 6-2, 6-1.
