UK No. 1 Emma Raducanu withdraws this month’s Billie Jean King Cup final from the UK so she can play in the WTA Tour.
Raducanu has provided a wildcard for the South Korean Open in Seoul and decided to prioritize the tournament over playing for her country in the finals of eight teams in Shenzhen, China.
The 22-year-old believes that the long-term development of participating in the game and a decisive partnership with new coach Francisco Roig would be better.
Roig started experimenting with Raducanu of Cincinnati last month and was in New York, where she entered the third round of the U.S. Open.
Raducanu also missed the qualifying match in The Hague in April by Billie Jean King Cup, so she could train with then-coach Mark Petchey in Los Angeles.
The decision was a major blow to the UK’s chances of success in Shenzhen, as Ladanu won her three singles matches when GB entered the semifinals of the Málaga tournament last year.
LTA sent considerable anger in Raducanu’s decision, which was forwarded to them on Thursday.
“Of course, we are disappointed. However, we believe we have a great team and we look forward to joining Shenzhen,” an LTA spokesperson said in a brief statement.
World No. 89 Fran Jones has been added to the team and will travel to China next week with Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal and Jodie Burrage.
Captain Anne Keothavong can further attract a player if she wants.
On September 18, Britain took action for the first time in the quarter-finals against Japan.
Ironically, the International Tennis Federation proposed the final date for two months in an attempt to attract more top players to the game.
The idea is that after the regular season, players are more likely to reach the final in Shenzhen at the start of a match in Asia, rather than returning to China in November.
Raducanu reached the quarter-finals last year and will earn ranking points in Seoul. However, Global 36 already has a great chance to be the 32 seeds of the Australian Open in January, as she has no other points to defend this year.
Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek and U.S. Open finalist Amanda Anisimova are players on the Korean Open entry list, which will begin on September 15.
