Rae inspired by GB Davis Cup win
Jocelyn Rae says Great Britain’s Davis Cup triumph is proving an inspiration for the Fed Cup team.
The GB women start their Euro/Africa Zone Group 1 campaign in Israel on Thursday, with Rae, 24, set to partner Anna Smith in the doubles.
She told BBC Radio Nottingham: “It was incredible and they all did so well. Not a lot of people maybe thought they could do it, but they did.
“Before we left, we saw the trophy. Even just seeing that was inspiring.”
GB are in a three-team group with South Africa and Georgia and the winners will go through to a play-off tie on Saturday.
Victory for the team, coached by Judy Murray, would see them through to another play-off in April with promotion to World Group Two at stake.
“The format of the group we are in is quite tricky to get out of, but we believe if we play well and put our best games on the court, we can do well,” Rae said.
Nottingham-based Rae won a Commonwealth Games mixed doubles gold medal for Scotland in 2010, in tandem with Colin Fleming, but then suffered a career-threatening foot injury.
She first noticed a problem playing in the Fed Cup in 2011 and a stress fracture was diagnosed, which kept her out of tennis for two years.
The Fed Cup team will be without British number one Johanna Konta, because of illness, but Rae is looking forward to this week’s challenge.
“We are all training well and we are just excited to start playing. I love it, I have always liked being part of a team,” she added.