Emma Raducanu has been sidelined for an extended period due to an injury. The 21-year-old's team recently commented on her chances of being ready for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Raducanu's last appearance on the WTA Tour was at the Korea Open in Seoul during the first week of the Asian swing in September. She started promisingly by winning her opening two matches.
The Briton planned to play several tournaments in Asia after regretting not playing a tournament for over three weeks before this year's US Open, where she lost in the first round to Sofia Kenin.
Andy Roddick was one of those who argued that Raducanu does herself no favors by making such scheduling decisions. In fairness to Raducanu, she listened to those critiques and tried to learn from them.
Unfortunately, those well-intentioned plans were ended when Raducanu was forced to retire after 31 minutes of her Korea Open quarterfinal match against last month's Ningbo Open champion Daria Kasatkina.
Raducanu later revealed she had sprained ligaments in her foot and would need to take some time away from the sport to allow the painful injury to heal fully.
By being cautious, the 2021 US Open champion hoped to avoid the mistake she made during her nine-month absence from the sport last year. Raducanu rushed her recovery, leading to a more extended period on the sidelines.
Raducanu most recently withdrew from last week's Hong Kong Open. However, she remained hopeful of being ready for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals that begin on November 13th.
Great Britain's first-round tie against Germany is also the last of the four being played on November 15th. That gives Raducanu extra time to get fit and ready for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
It would be a shame if Raducanu did not feature at the prestigious event after playing a pivotal role in helping Team Great Britain reach the Finals in their qualifying tie against France.
The Brits were underdogs against France, playing at home on an indoor clay court. Despite having limited success on clay during her career, Raducanu produced stunning performances against Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry to lead Great Britain to the Finals.
Those excellent performances show how significant her presence in Malaga for the event is to Team Great Britain's chances. Raducanu's fans will be happy to discover that one of the 21-year-old's team members gave a positive update about her fitness.
"Emma is training well and being with the team next week is her focus."
The former Grand Slam champion being in training is a significant improvement from a few weeks ago when Raducanu was pictured wearing a protective boot at a hospital, and she still has over a week to be ready for the tie against Germany.
Raducanu's presence would also give the Billie Jean King Cup Finals more star quality after Naomi Osaka had to withdraw because of a back injury she sustained during the Asian Swing.
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