Just In: Emma Raducanu left out of Team GB squad again but top star returns with Katie Boulter
Emma Raducanu hasn’t been named in the Great Britain squad for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals later this month. The six-day event will take place in Shenzhen, China, starting on September 22 and ending on September 27. Team GB will be joined in the tournament by seven other teams: Italy, China, Ukraine, Belgium, Kazakhstan, Spain and Czechia.
Their first tie will be against Czechia in the quarter-finals, with the winner going on to face either Spain or Kazakhstan in the last four. Raducanu would usually be a shoo-in for Great Britain, but she has been left out of the squad as she continues to recover from the stress fracture that ruled her out of the US Open.
Katie Boulter is the standout name in the British squad, with Sonay Kartal also set to appear in what will be her first tournament in six months.
Kartal recently announced her return from a stress fracture injury to her lower back and has been selected by team captain Anne Keothavong to compete at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals for the second year in a row.
Speaking on her return to the squad, Kartal said: “For me, there was no better way to do it [returning from injury at the Billie Jean King Cup].
“It’s one of my favourite weeks of the year. I love the team atmosphere, the team events, spending time with the girls. It’s such a unique event.
“It’s going to be a great week. I’m feeling good. Mentally, physically, I’m in a very good place. I’m ready to get going now, it’s been a while.
Harriet Dart, Jodie Burrage and Mika Stojsavljevic are the other three players included in the British squad.
Raducanu, meanwhile, will be forced to watch the action from home as she continues to build back to full fitness.
It comes just days after she quietly dropped off the entry list for the China Open, where she was initially scheduled to compete next.
The young Brit has not played a match in 94 days, when she lost to Donna Vekic in the final at Queen’s Club just before Wimbledon. Since then, she has slipped from 31st to 96th in the WTA rankings
