Emma Raducanu has pulled out of Great Britain’s squad for next week’s Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers against Germany and the Netherlands.
The British No 2 reached the quarter-finals of the Miami Open last week, her deepest run at a WTA 1000 event and best tournament performance since her stunning US Open triumph in 2021.
Raducanu has featured at seven tournaments in a busy first three months of the year and it is thought she is planning to take a short break from competitive action, using the next two to three weeks as a training block before returning to action at an as-yet unspecified date.
Raducanu’s representatives told BBC Sport that pulling out of the British squad for the matches in The Hague was a “difficult decision,” adding: “She needs a little space in the calendar to best look after her body.” Raducanu took a medical timeout during the second set of her three-set defeat to Jessica Pegula in the Miami quarter-finals.
The 22-year-old was initially named in Britain’s five-strong team for their Billie Jean King Cup qualifying double-header in the Netherlands. Their captain, Anne Keothavong, will now need to call up a replacement to join Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal, Harriet Dart and the British doubles No 1, Olivia Nicholls.
“I recognise this has been a difficult decision for Emma,” Keothavong said on the LTA’s X account. “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 fifth player in due course.”
Great Britain will compete in a new round-robin qualifying format, with the top nation of three in their group heading to the finals later this year. The remaining two teams will have to compete in playoffs in order to return to the qualifiers in 2026. Britain will face Germany on 11 April and the Netherlands on 12 April.
