Following the appalling weather that hit the south of Spain on Wednesday, causing flooding in the Malaga region, the ITF confirmed that Thursday’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals matches — Japan v Romania and Slovakia v the United States — would go ahead as the red alert was set to be lifted at 8am local time.

I’m happy that I can be part of the team again, because I always wanted that every year, but with the scheduling, it was pretty tricky and, kind of, impossible to make it work. I’m just happy to be here, and, hopefully, I can play some solid matches here, and stay as long as possible together with the team. Iga Świątek

While the area outside of the Martín Carpena Arena was covered in ankle-deep water, the actual playing surface inside was unaffected.

The worst of the flooding occurred in the city centre, about 3½ miles from the tournament venue, and although there was some concern about the height of the Guadalmedina River, which flows through the city and is usually dry for most of the year, the water had receded by sunset.

Team GB are staying in a hotel about 6 miles outside the city centre, which avoided any flooding but left players and staff having to keep themselves occupied with indoor activities in the team room while celebrating Emma Raducanu’s 22nd birthday.

“Thanks for making my birthday as good as it can be inside in this weather,” Raducanu wrote on social media while showing a video clip of her unwrapping a gift.

GB Captain Anne Keothavong told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We’ve all wished Emma a happy birthday. The balloons have come out, there is bunting in the team room, and we’ve tried to keep everybody’s spirits as high as possible.

“We have joked that she is not going to forget her 22nd birthday any time soon. I’m not sure she expected to be stuck in the hotel all day.”

With training cancelled for the day, the team have had time to prepare ahead of facing Germany at 5pm on Friday, getting in 3 practice sessions on Tuesday.

© Angel Martinez/Getty Images for ITF

Wednesday evening’s opening tie between hosts Spain and Poland was postponed until Friday morning and will start at 10am.

World No 2 Iga Swiatek has been paying tribute to Paula Badosa ahead of the tie, and, as both are the No 1 players for their respective nations, their meeting could prove key in deciding which nation advances to a quarter-final meeting with Czechia.

Badosa will have home crowd support when she faces the 5-time major champion, and heads into this encounter after a hugely successful summer, returning to the Top 15 of the WTA Rankings, thanks to results including a 4th WTA title in Washington and a US Open quarter-final appearance just months after falling out of the Top 100.

The Spaniard has struggled with a serious back issue in recent years and, while not phased by having the crowd against her, Swiatek knows she will need to be at her best against her resurgent rival.

“It’s not the first time I’m playing somebody who is going to have the whole audience behind them,” said Swiatek on Tuesday. “It’s not going to be easy and I will need an extra focus.

“I’m going to focus on my tennis first, because playing against Paula is always a challenge. I’ll prepare tactically because we haven’t played in a while.

“I was actually looking at her journey and I was, kind of, worried if she was going to be able to come back, because obviously her injuries weren’t easy and smooth, and sometimes she tried, but it wasn’t working.

“So honestly, I was super happy to see her back playing her tennis in these tournaments, at the US Open, and plenty of others. She’s a really, really nice person, and I felt like she’s really pushing to be back.

“Anybody who has this kind of grit and determination, you know, deserves to be there. Hopefully, she’s going to continue that, but we’ll see this week. I’m probably going to focus on myself, and hopefully she’s not going to play that well – we’ll see.”

Swiatek was a late addition to the Poland squad, only announcing last month that she would be playing in the Finals, having skipped the competition 12 months ago.

“I’m happy that I can be part of the team again, because I always wanted that every year, but with the scheduling, it was pretty tricky and, kind of, impossible to make it work,” she added. “I’m just happy to be here, and, hopefully, I can play some solid matches here, and stay as long as possible together with the team.”

Competition for the Billie Jean King Cup trophy begins on Thursday, one day late due to heavy rain and flooding in the Malaga region

© Fran Santiago/Getty Images for ITF

Meanwhile, it is down to Japan and Romania to kick off the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals play on Thursday, in a first meeting between the 2 nations, and the winners will earn a quarter-final berth against last year’s runners-up, Italy.

The second tie of the day sees Slovakia take on USA, with the winners set to contest a Last 8 tie against Australia.

Slovakia won the only previous meeting between the 2 nations, but USA will fancy their chances of a win as they aim for a 19th Billie Jean King Cup title.

Emma Raducanu celebrated her 22nd birthday with Team GB at their hotel outside of Malaga on Wednesday

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