Emma Raducanu will not feature in Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals qualifying tie against France next month.
Captain Anne Keothavong has named the same team which reached the semi-finals in September and said former US Open champion Raducanu was “unavailable” for the tie in Coventry from April 14-15.
Raducanu said after her opening victory in Indian Wells that she did not even know when the tie was, a comment which did not appear to go down well with Keothavong.
The former British number one responded to one report of the comment with a thinking face emoji on social media. She then separately posted, seemingly in reference to that: “My communication skills are generally good in case anyone was wondering.”
🇬🇧 Your @BJKCup Team to take on France 🇬🇧@harriet_dart @HeatherWatson92 @katiecboulter @LisseyBarnett @OliviaNicholls
— LTA (@the_LTA) March 17, 2023
Explaining her decision to keep faith with Harriet Dart, Heather Watson, Katie Boulter, Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls, Keothavong said: “I’m pleased to name the same team as the one we had four months ago in Glasgow where we gelled so well, and the team spirit was electric.
“There were some memorable performances across the week to help us reach the semi-finals.
“Harriet showed us what she’s capable of by beating the likes of (Paula) Badosa and (Ajla) Tomljanovic.
“We saw Alicia and Olivia make their Cup debut, where they brought so much energy to the court and demonstrated how important doubles is. Katie and Heather have a proven track record in this competition and are enthusiastic as ever to be part of this team.
Great Britain’s Harriet Dart celebrates after beating Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic during the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup in Glasgow (Jane Barlow/PA)
“While Emma is unavailable for this tie we look forward to seeing her back on the team in the near future.”
Raducanu, who missed November’s Finals in Glasgow due to a wrist injury, reached the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open this week before losing to world number one Iga Swiatek.
Her absence will once again draw attention to her burgeoning commercial portfolio, with the 20-year-old set to compete the following week on indoor clay in Stuttgart at a tournament owned by her sponsors Porsche.
Britain will go into the tie as significant underdogs, with France led by world number five Caroline Garcia, who is supported by Alize Cornet, Kristina Mladenovic and Clara Burel.
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