Emma Raducanu’s Billie Jean King Cup decision explained by Great Britain captain
Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup captain has explained why Emma Raducanu and other notable British players will not be representing their country in the competition next month.
World No 23 Raducanu was not named as part of Great Britain’s squad for their qualifier against Australia, which will take place on April 10-11.
The British squad will have to travel Down Under for their qualifier, with a place in September’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals — held in Shenzhen — at stake for both Great Britain and Australia.
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Action will take place inside the John Cain Arena in Melbourne, part of the Melbourne Park complex in which the Australian Open is held every January.
Seven Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers will be held on the same weekend as Great Britain’s tie versus Australia, with the seven victorious nations set to join hosts China in September’s Finals.
However, there is also regular WTA Tour action taking place that week, with the WTA 500 Linz Open being held that same week.
The tournament is set to be the first WTA event of the European clay-court swing, and world No 23 Raducanu is among those currently entered into the draw.
Meanwhile, Raducanu is not the only notable British player set to miss the qualifier, with Katie Boulter and Francesca Jones also not part of Great Britain’s squad.
And, captain Keothavong has conceded that the logistics of travelling thousands of kilometres to Australia — coupled with the start of the clay-court swing — mean that several players have chosen not to play.
“It’s a difficult time of year to be going back to Australia. It’s the start of the clay-court season for most of the players,” said Keothavong, speaking on Sky Sports.
“I know most of the players take huge pride in representing Great Britain in this competition, but they also have to make choices for their own tennis and for their own health.”
The highest-ranked player in Great Britain’s team is set to be world No 56 Sonay Kartal, with former top-100 players Jodie Burrage and Harriet Dart also joining rising star Mika Stojsavljevic.
Great Britain will be significant underdogs for the tie, with the Australian team consisting of world No 31 Maya Joint, 2026 breakout star Talia Gibson, Kimberly Birrell, and doubles specialists Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez.
However, Keothavong insists Great Britain will not be phased at the task at hand.
She added: “We’ve been underdogs before in this competition and have been able to surprise many people, and got to go in with the same attitude.”
Great Britain successfully qualified for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in 2025 and beat Japan in the quarter-final, before a semi-final loss to the United States in Shenzhen.
The nation has never won the prestigious women’s team competition and has finished as the runner-up on four separate occasions, reaching the final in 1967, 1971, 1972, and 1981.
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