Mika's Wrexham memories give confidence in Melbourne Billie Jean King Cup debut for Great Britain

Pictured: Mika Stojsavljevic in action in her Lexus Wrexham Open final last October has been selected to play singles matches for Great Britain against Australian players Talia Gibson and Kimberly Birrell in Melbourne.

Mika Stojsavljevic believes her excellent run to last year's Lexus Wrexham Open final helped play a part in her first call up to Great Britain's Billie Jean King Cup team. The 17-year-old rising star, selected by Great Britain captain Anne Keothavong for this week's qualifier against Australia, is set to make her debut at the John Cain Arena in Melbourne.

Stojsavljevic has been chosen, along with Harriet Dart, to play singles matches in Melbourne against Talia Gibson on Friday and Kimberly Birrell the following day, players currently ranked 56 and 80 in the world respectively.

Stojsavljevic impressed during last October's ITF World Tennis Tour event at Wrexham Tennis & Padel Centre, not dropping a set in reaching the final, before eventually losing to Welsh ace Mimi Xu in front of a capacity crowd of more than 600 spectators.

The run in Wrexham saw her significantly climb the world rankings with the rise of former US Open Junior champion Stojsavljevic - currently 275 in the world and now the British number eight - rewarded with a GB call up.

Stojsavljevic, who enjoyed the week she spent playing in Wrexham, said:

“I thought Wrexham was a great tournament. I think the organisers did the club up really nicely, they had stands around the courts and I think there were around 600 people there for the final, which was pretty incredible. Getting to the final was an amazing experience.

“It's really helped build my confidence and I'll take that onto the court in Melbourne. It is so exciting to make my Billie Jean King debut.”

The Lexus Wrexham Open has replaced the Lexus W100 in Shrewsbury in the LTA Performance Competitions Calendar, with Stojsavljevic's three Great Britain team mates in Melbourne having all previously played in the tournament when it took place in the Shropshire town.

Harriet Dart was doubles champion in Shrewsbury in both 2017 and 2023, with Katie Swan, also called up to this week's team in Australia, on the losing side in the 2017 doubles final.

Jodie Burrage, the other member of the GB team in Melbourne, also played the Shrewsbury event a number of times, most recently in 2024.

The 2026 Lexus Wrexham Open - the biggest women's tennis tournament to be played in the UK this year, outside of the LTA's grass court season - will be held on the indoor courts at Wrexham Tennis & Padel Centre between October 18-25.