Emma Raducanu looks set to take a break from tennis after confirming she will not play for Great Britain in their Billie Jean King Cup ties later this month.
Raducanu was selected to travel with the Great Britain squad for matches against Germany and Netherlands in The Hauge, with captain Anne Keothavong confirming the news in a statement released by the LTA.
“I recognise this has been a difficult decision for Emma,” said Keothavong.
“Of course you always miss a player of her quality on the team, we’ve seen what she can do in the past representing her country, but I have the utmost belief in the players who are travelling next week and will confirm a 5th player in due course.”
The Great Britain team will now be led by Katie Boulter, with star Sonay Kartal, Harriet Dart and doubles specialist Olivia Nicholls also included.
The question over what comes next for Raducanu will now be asked, as she has entered the Open de Rouen in France, a WTA 250 tournament that gets underway on April 14.
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Her decision to pull out of the Billie Jean King Cup matches a week before that date will cast doubt over whether she will now also withdraw from the Rouen tournament, amid suggestions she is planning to put in a training block over the next few weeks.
Raducanu played just two WTA Tour events on clay courts last year, reaching the quarter-finals of the WTA 500 event in Stuttgart and then turning in a disappointing performance as she lost in the first round of the Madrid Open.
She then opted against playing in qualifying for the Italian Open and, controversially, also side-stepped the second Grand Slam of 2024 as she decided not to play in qualifying for the French Open.
That decision was justified as she enjoyed success on grass courts, reaching the semi-finals at the Nottingham Open and securing the first top 10 win of her career when she beat Jessica Pegula in Eastbourne.
A run to the last-16 at Wimbledon completed a strong grass court season for Raducanu and hopes of more success were inflated by her impressive run to the Miami Open quarter-finals last week.
With limited points to defend in the clay court season, Raduacanu has a big opportunity to climb the WTA Rankings over the next few weeks.
Yet she could be set to walk away from that opportunity if she opts to put in an extending training block at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre in London.
Raducanu has answered her critics in 2025 who were calling for her to enter more tournaments as she was active in the first three months of the year, but results did not go her way until her sparkling return to form in Miami.
Now she appears to be edging towards taking a step back from the weekly grind of the WTA Tour and if she pulls out of the WTA 250 event in Rouen, she could look to return to competitive action in the WTA 1000 event in Madrid later this month.
An appearance in the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome at the start of May could be another option, as she looks to get in some clay court practice ahead of what would be only her second appearance at Ronald Garros.
Former British No 1 Tim Henman believes the secret to Raducanu’s success in Miami was her decision to commit to a busy schedule this year, as he encouraged her to continue on that path.
“It’s been great that she’s competed a lot more this year after Australia,” Henman told Sky Sports Tennis.
“She’s played three or four tournaments but the results haven’t been there. But I think that when you’re putting in that hard work in the gym with a physical trainer, I thought her movement both sort of offensively and defensively looked fantastic.
“She talks about having fun and being authentic, that gives her the opportunity of expressing herself on the court. That being said, she does it differently. She is very comfortable. She’s changed coaches.
“That’s not necessarily what everyone else likes to do, but she’s comfortable changing that up.
“But for me, as Marion touched upon, building physical resilience, I think is the most important thing. That is what has been lacking because she’s almost had her career back to front, qualifying, winning that Grand Slam without really the physical foundation.
“When her body was breaking down when she was in competition. I think the big positive this year is that she’s been able to compete more consistently and hopefully the results are going to come.”
Raducanu has yet to make any comment on her next tournament, but she is expected to play at the French Open this season after missing the Roland Garros event for the past two years.
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