Emma Raducanu changed her mind and decided to withdraw from the upcoming Billie Jean King Finals and play in a WTA tournament instead, a decision which reportedly caused some "anger" within the LTA.
After pulling out of the BJK Cup qualifiers in April, Raducanu agreed to represent her nation at this month's Finals event. But in the meantime, the top-ranked British female tennis player was offered a main draw wildcard for the WTA 500 tournament in Seoul, slated to take place between September 15-21.
On September, Great Britain is due to face Kazakhstan in the BJK Cup Finals quarterfinal. But now, they will have to do it without their biggest star. And after BBC Sport reached out to the LTA representatives, they received a response that pretty much indicated that they weren't happy with Raducanu's move.
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"Of course we are disappointed. However, we believe we have a great team and we're looking forward to competing in Shenzhen," an LTA spokesperson said in a statement to BBC Sport.
Raducanu not playing is a big blow for the British Billie Jean King Cup hopes
After missing some of BJK Cup action in the past and receiving major criticism and scrutiny, Raducanu returned to the team last year. And it instantly helped the team since the former world No. 10 went an impressive 5-5 in her singles matches played in the competition last year. Great Britain ended up making a deep run before losing in the semifinal stage.
Now that the 2021 US Open winner is out, Great Britain is set to be represented by Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal and Jodie Burrage. However, British captain Anne Keothavong is allowed to add another player and she will very likely do so in this situation.
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Meanwhile, Raducanu will make her third appearance at the Korea Open in Seoul. In the past, the 22-year-old was a semifinalist in 2022 and reached the quarterfinal last year. Even if the current world No. 36 does well in Seoul, there is no doubt that she will still face criticism during the BJK Cup Finals week.
