Emma Raducanu pulls out of Billie Jean King Cup Finals to play in Korea Open

Emma Raducanu has pulled out of Great Britain’s team for this month’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals in order to play in a WTA tournament.

The 22-year-old was set to lead Britain’s line-up in Shenzhen in a couple of weeks’ time but has instead decided to play in the Korea Open the same week, for which she has been offered a wild card.

Raducanu’s decision is a major blow to Britain’s hopes of progress, with Anne Keothavong’s team set to face Japan in the quarter-finals on September 18.

Raducanu has spoken of how much she enjoys playing in the team competition and she has an excellent record having won her last five singles matches, including three at last year’s Finals, where Britain reached the semi-finals.

However, she opted not to play in the group stage in April, choosing to do a training block instead, and this decision is likely to go down like a lead balloon.

The PA news agency understands that Raducanu and her team believe she needs to prioritise playing WTA events and spending time on the road with new coach Francisco Roig after a positive start to their partnership.

A Lawn Tennis Association spokesman said: “Of course we are disappointed. However, we believe we have a great team and we’re looking forward to competing in Shenzhen.”

It is certainly not an ideal situation for the Billie Jean King Cup to be competing against tour events, and Raducanu is defending ranking points having reached the quarter-finals in Korea last year.

However, she did not play again until representing her country in November after sustaining a foot injury so, providing she avoids the same fate, she would have a good opportunity to gain significant points this season anyway as she bids to secure a seeding for the Australian Open in January.

Keothavong has named British number four Fran Jones as a replacement for Raducanu, with the 24-year-old joining the team of Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal and Jodie Burrage.

Should Britain beat Japan, who are set to have US Open semi-finalist Naomi Osaka in their team, they would face either the USA or Kazakhstan in the last four on September 20.