Overview
- Team captain Rainer Schüttler said Laura Siegemund pulled out with back complaints two days before Friday’s opening tie against Turkey in Ismaning.
- Nineteen-year-old Tessa Brockmann was drafted in, with her eligibility confirmed only minutes before the registration deadline after the ITF initially rejected her passport.
- Schüttler criticized the ITF’s document rule in the case, calling the process unusual and not in the sport’s interest.
- With Tatjana Maria also absent, world No. 40 Eva Lys leads a lineup that still rates as the favorite on paper against Turkey and a likely decisive Belgium tie on Sunday.
- Debutants Brockmann and Ella Seidel join Jule Niemeier and Anna-Lena Friedsam, with only the winner of the three-team play-off staying in the top group next year.