Emma Raducanu has announced her withdrawal from the Billie Jean King Cup Finals after failing to recover in time from a wrist injury.
Raducanu, 19, last competed four weeks ago in Ostrava, where she suffered a first-round loss.
After Ostrava, Raducanu pulled out of Cluj-Napoca but remained hopeful that she would recover in time for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, scheduled to start on November 8 in Glasgow.
Unfortunately for Raducanu and British tennis fans, the British team will have to do without the 2021 US Open champion.
In a statement, Raducanu said she did her best to recover in time for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, but just couldn’t.
“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’ve been working every day on physical training + rehab,” Raducanu said in a statement, per James Gray.
Raducanu: “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’ve been working every day on physical training + rehab.”
— James Gray (@jamesgraysport) October 28, 2022
Raducanu badly wanted to represent Great Britain at the BJK Cup Finals
Three weeks ago, British Billie Jean King Cup team captain Anne Keothavong said Raducanu “really wanted” to represent her country in Glasgow.
“I was literally on the phone to her this morning at the airport. We have the benefit of time on our side. The Billie Jean King Cup Finals isn’t for another month. She’s doing her best to rest up and recover and she’s got a rehab programme in place. We’ll just have to see how it goes and she’s got to manage it and look after herself, which is the most important thing. I know she really wants to be part of this team, she had a great experience when we were in Prague. That’s great when you’ve got your top player who is saying all the right things,” Keothavong told the PA News Agency.
By pulling out of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, Raducanu’s 2022 season is over.
Raducanu is expected to play next in mid-December, when the times comes for the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi.