Team Great Britain's chances of winning the Billie Jean King Cup have been dealt a significant blow after Emma Raducnau withdrew from November's Finals in Glasgow.
Raducanu had been set to lead her country at the Finals. 2022 has not been an easy year for the Briton, but she still would have been a major asset for Team Great Britain had she been ready to compete.
Although there have been occasional bright moments, 2022 can be considered a transition year for Raducanu. It was her first full season on the WTA Tour since stunning the tennis world by winning the 2021 US Open as an 18-year-old qualifier.
Raducanu started working with former ATP star Dimitry Tursunov after Wimbledon to find more consistency. He enjoyed great success with Anett Kontaveit, helping the Estonian reach No. 2 in the world.
However, Tursunov left Raducanu's team earlier this month despite calling her a great person to work with a couple of weeks previously. Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic swiftly hired Tursunov as her coach.
Raducanu's final match of the WTA season was a defeat to Daria Kastkina in the opening round of the Ostrava Open. She planned to finish 2024 by playing in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, an ITF event, but that is no longer possible.
Last year's US Open champion sustained an injury issue against Kasatkina. Despite working extremely hard to be fit in time, Raducanu announced that she could not play and wished her teammates well for the event.
“It’s disappointing to get the news from the doctors that I won’t be ready in time, particularly with it being on home soil. I tried to do everything possible to get it ready in time, since my last tournament I have been working every day on physical training and rehab. I’ve got confidence in my teammates and look forward to playing next year.”
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