Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from representing Great Britain in the Billie Jean King’s quarter-final showdown against Japan after accepting a wildcard for the Korea Open.
Raducanu was set to complete the British team, competing alongside Katie Boulter, Jodie Burrage, and Sonay Kartal on September 18 in a tie against Japan.
Instead, the Brit has accepted a wild card for the WTA 500 tournament in Seoul, taking place September 15 – 21.
The 2021 US Open champion’s replacement is expected to be announced sometime in the next few days.
Meanwhile, the Japanese team will consist of four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, Moyuka Uchijima, Ena Shibahara, Eri Hozumi, and Shuko Aoyama.
The winner of the tie will go on to face the victor of the quarter-final tie between the United States and Kazakhstan.
Raducanu also participated in the Korea Open in 2024, reaching the last eight – retiring against Ukrainian Daria Kasatkina after losing the first set 6-1, after suffering from foot discomfort.
In 2022, the Brit progressed one round further, but, again, retired mid-match against top seed Jelena Ostapenko whilst down 3-0 in the third set.
Billie Jean King, after whom the Federation Cup was re-named, had previously commented that she was ‘excited’ to see Raducanu in action during the team competition.
“I think it’s huge that you can speak the language of wherever you are,” King remarked.
“Raducanu is very articulate as well, she’s very good at getting up and speaking, covering a lot of subjects. You can tell she thinks about a lot of things compared to a lot of the players.
“I think we’re really lucky to have her but she likes it, she likes playing for her country.
“If I were her, I’d be pretty excited. She’s playing very well, and the main thing is she’s injury-free, her body’s healthy again.”
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Raducanu was crucial in helping Great Britain reach the semi-finals at the Billie Jean King Cup in 2024, winning all three of her singles matches, winning the team their sole point during their loss to the Slovakian team.
The former world No 10 also decided to skip the qualifying round against the Netherlands and Germany in April, favouring carrying out a training block in order to ‘look after her body.’
More recently, Raducanu has rocketed back up the rankings with more consistent results, currently sitting as the world No 36.
She fell to ninth seed Elena Rybakina 6-1, 6-2 in the third round of the US Open after a string of impressive performances, including reaching the last four at the WTA 500 event in Washington.
The Brit added Francisco Roig, former coach of tennis legend Rafael Nadal, to her team after a successful post-Wimbledon period, a move which seems to be paying dividends.
Raducanu clarified that the partnership will continue until, at least, the end of the season.
“Right now we’re working through to the end of the year, and I’m looking forward to just getting back to work really,” she stated.
“It’s only been three weeks, but I think it’s been a pretty successful three weeks in the sense of we’ve made good improvement, and I think there are certain parts of my game which have gotten better for sure.”
The post Emma Raducanu makes controversial scheduling decision, chooses South Korean tournament over representing Great Britain appeared first on Tennis365.
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