Great Britain are hoping to mount a title challenge at this year's Billie Jean King Cup Finals, which is underway in China, but they will have to do so without their star player, after Emma Raducanu pulled out of the tournament in the build-up.
Although Team GB have reached the final of the women’s team tennis event on four occasions, they have never picked up the trophy — and there were hopes this year that they would carry a genuine threat to the powerhouses of Italy and the USA, although Radunacu's withdrawal may have hampered that bid.
The 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals are being held in Shenzhen, China, from September 16-21. Great Britain are one of eight teams (Japan, China, Italy, Spain, USA, Ukraine and Kazakhstan are the others) to have reached the final showdown after coming through qualifiers.
The Sporting News provides more information on the British team, and the absence of their leading light.
MORE: Latest tennis news | Who are the teams competing at the 2025 BJK Cup Finals? | Billie Jean King Cup 2025 format and schedule
Why is Emma Raducanu not playing at the Billie Jean King Cup?
Raducanu is one of the key figures in British women's tennis but she will not be part of the GB team in Shenzhen.
Given her experience on the big stage, she had looked set to play a crucial role in the tournament and was named in the initial team nominations by GB captain Anne Keothavong, but Raducanu has subsequently decided to pull out.
Instead, she has opted to play in the Korea Open on the WTA Tour instead this week, after being handed a wildcard by tournament organisers in Seoul.
The other members of the GB team are Katie Boutler, Sonay Kartal and Jodie Burrage, with Raducanu's spot having been filled by Francesca Jones.
Great Britain are not among the favourites to lift the Cup, but begin their campaign against Japan in the quarter-finals on September 18.
Emma Raducanua Grand Slam record, world ranking
Despite being a qualifier, Raducanu famously captured the US Open in 2021 without dropping a set. In doing so, she became the first qualifier, male or female, to win a major and the first British woman to claim a Grand Slam since Virginia Wade in 1977.
It's been a rockier road for Raducanu since that 2021 grand slam success. She has struggled with injuries and has churned through a number of different coaches trying to find the recipe to compete with the very best in the game.
After a poor couple of years, however, there are signs she might be back to something approaching her best.
She reached the third round at the Australian Open early in 2025. And at Wimbledon 2025, in front of her home crowd, the 22-year-old clinched a straight-sets win over former champion Marketa Vondousova.
Although she eventually succumbed to top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the third round, Raducanu had strung together some good results of late.
After winning the 2021 US Open, her best return in a grand slam is the fourth round. She's reached that stage twice at Wimbledon, in 2021 and 2024.
Her most recent bid at the 2025 US Open ended with a third-round defeat to Elena Rybakina, who ironically has decided to play in the BJK Cup with her country, Ukraine.
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Emma Raducanua Billie Jean King Cup record and history
Raducanu was a key player for Great Britain en route to a semi-final finish at the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga, Spain.
She won all the three of her singles matches as Team GB beat Germany and Canada in the quarterfinals, before losing 2-1 to Slovakia in the final four. Raducanu did claim that point against Slovakia by beating Viktoria Hruncakova 6-4, 6-4
Emma Raducanu record in the BJK Cup:
- Debut: 2021
- No. of ties played: 6
- Win-loss record: 6/1 (Singles 6/1)