As the dust settles for Australia after an early exit at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, an eye-catching statistic has posed questions about team captain Samantha Stosur's selection.
The Aussies suffered a crushing 2-0 defeat against Slovakia, prolonging the country's agonising 50-year wait for BJK Cup glory another 12 months.
Coming off a maiden WTA final last month in Japan, an in-form Kimberly Birrell was selected by Stosur as the fifth member to represent the green and gold less than two weeks ago.
The world No.115 was selected for the opening rubber against Viktória Hrunčáková in what was the pair's first meeting, falling short in a tight affair that ended in a 7-5 6-7(4) 6-3 defeat.
"I think Kim was very, very close to getting that first match our way, which was great. I thought it was a really good, quality match," Stosur said after the tie's conclusion.
Olivia Gadecki, who qualified for her first WTA 500 event in Guadalajara in September, was overlooked despite being the No.2 female Aussie representative - serving as a surprise for some on social media.
The 22-year-old has grown from strength to strength in 2024, but her positive 2-0 head-to-head record over Hrunčáková was the big talking point.
Gadecki defeated the world No.234 in the first-round of US Open qualifying at the end of August before dismantling the Slovak 6-2 6-1 at an ITF event in Great Britain mid-year.
Stosur experienced her first Billie Jean King Cup Finals as captain after taking over from former world No.8 Alicia Molik.
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