"Disappointing not to have your top player here": Team Great Britain captain makes her feelings known about Emma Raducanu's absence from BJK Finals

Team Great Britain’s captain, Anne Keothavong, has admitted that she was ‘disappointed’ after not having the services of the country’s number one player, Emma Raducanu, in the upcoming quarterfinal of the Billie Jean King Cup 2025. The team-based competition has now entered the last phase.

Raducanu is going through a decent season where she has produced some impressive performances in the singles category. She has played in 45 matches in the singles category in 2025, winning 27 of them. Raducanu’s best performance this year came at the DC Open, where she was eventually knocked out after losing in the semifinal to Anna Kalinskaya in straight sets.

Despite producing some of the best tennis of her young career on the court, Raducanu has been in the news for the wrong reasons. The reason for criticism was her decision not to take part in the Billie Jean King Cup and represent her country. Instead, Raducanu decided to take part in the ongoing Korea Open.

Raducanu started the ongoing WTA 500 event in style on Tuesday as she defeated Jaqueline Cristian in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4. Raducanu will now face Barbora Krejcikova in the round of 16 contest on Thursday. Team Great Britain’s captain Keothavong spoke to the media before the team’s match against Japan and expressed her frustration about Raducanu’s absence. Keothavong stated that while it is disappointing not to have the best player in the country available, but believes that the remaining members of the team are raring to go and secure their spot in the semifinal of the competition.

"Yeah, obviously just disappointing not to have your top player here," said Keothavong. "But look, as I've said before, we're here and we're ready to go tomorrow. The players I've got here are well-prepared and excited about the challenge of taking on Japan tomorrow. This is a competition that means a lot to all of us and one that we really want to do well together as a team. Look, I'm feeling confident as captain with the players I have here. Yeah, just really excited to get going."

Raducanu received some backing for her decision as well. A few days back, her ex-coach Mark Petchey backed the one-time Grand Slam winner’s decision to withdraw from the competition in favour of featuring in the Korea Open. Petchey was of the opinion that looking at the schedule, no one should blame Raducanu for what she decided to do in the end.

“There's always two sides to everything,” said Petchey. “It's very easy to come down on the side that you should want to represent your country. To be fair to Emma, when you look back at what she achieved on the clay against France, she proved that when she's put up against it, she can A, produce the goods and B does want to play. I don't think you can blame Emma for a schedule that makes zero sense.”

Raducanu’s replacement in the upcoming contest on Great Britain’s side will be Francesca Jones. The 24-year-old, who is currently ranked 73rd in the WTA rankings, is having a very impressive season herself, where she has managed to win 45 out of 61 matches across different competitions. While doing so, she managed to lift two titles as well. Her first title in 2025 was Grand Est Open 88 in Contrexeville, France, where she defeated Elsa Jacquemot in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 7-6. Jones then went on to lift the Palermo Ladies Open after beating Anouk Koevermans in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-2.

Jones also spoke to the media ahead of the match where she expressed optimism that her good form will help Great Britian in coming over the Japanese challenge in the upcoming contest. "Obviously I've had a good season so far," she said. "I've built a lot of momentum. I was grateful to have the opportunity to continue that in Sao Paulo, but still managed to come here. For me, I'm very patriotic, proper northerner that loves my country. I'm very happy to be here and join the girls and join my team and enjoy my experiences as previously. Just ready to rock and roll, really."