In Great Britain’s next Billie Jean King Cup Finals qualification match against France, young British superstar Emma Raducanu will not play.
The squad which managed to advance to the semi-finals in September of last year has not changed by captain Anne Keothavong, who also stated that former US Open winner Raducanu will not be available for the match in Coventry on April 14 and 15.
The answer given by Raducanu following her initial win in Indian Wells in terms of the fact that she did not even know the date of the tie did not seem to sit well with Keothavong.
At only 20 years old, the young former British number one responded to the news of the fact that she won’t be a part of the squad on social media by using the “thinking” face emoji.
Coach Keothavong remarked, “I’m thrilled to choose the same squad as the one we had four months ago in Glasgow where we performed so well, and the team spirit was fantastic,” in a statement explaining her choice to stick with Harriet Dart, Heather Watson, Katie Boulter, Alicia Barnett, and Olivia Nicholls.
“We had several standout efforts throughout the week that got us to the semi-finals. By defeating competitors such as Paula Badosa and Ajla)Tomljanovic, Harriet Dart definitely stood out and demonstrated just what she’s capable of.”
Emma won’t be available for the tie, but Keothavong hopes to have her back on the squad soon.
Due to a wrist injury, Raducanu was unable to compete in the Finals in Glasgow in November of last year. This week, she advanced to the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open before falling to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek from Poland.
