Madison Keys, Naomi Osaka and Zheng Qinwen joins long list of player to withdraw from Billie Jean King Cup finals

Three big-name players have withdrawn from the upcoming final stage of the Billie Jean King Cup. The Billie Jean King Cup final round will be played between September 16 and 21 at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre Arena in Shenzhen, China.

The remaining eight teams will participate in the quarterfinals of the competition, where the home team will go up against defending champion Italy. The other three quarterfinals will see Spain taking on Ukraine, Kazakhstan facing the USA, and Great Britain facing Japan.

In the lead-up to the tournament, the home team has suffered a significant setback after reports of Zheng Qinwen’s decision not to take part in the competition. The 22-year-old has had fitness concerns in the recent past, which forced her to miss a lot of action on the court. Qinwen underwent elbow surgery in July, which forced her to withdraw from the ongoing US Open as well.

Reports on Monday suggest that Qinwen received clearance to return to the court ahead of the upcoming Billie Jean King Cup. The report stated that Qinwen completed the rehabilitation under supervision at the Rennbahnklinik in Muttenz, Switzerland. Dr. Frank Denzler led the procedure for the rehabilitation of Zheng. However, the recent reports indicate that Qinwen will not take part in the competition.

The other big-name player to miss the competition will be the former world number one, Japan’s Naomi Osaka. The 27-year-old has recently had a great run at the US Open, where she was eventually knocked out after losing in the semifinal to America’s Amanda Anisimova. It was Osaka’s first defeat in the quarterfinal, semifinal or the final of a Grand Slam.

Talking after the match, Osaka stated that she is feeling upbeat about the future and is not feeling sad after losing the last-four match in a mega-event. “I don't feel sad. It's really weird. Well, it's not weird, because I just feel like I did the best that I could,” said Osaka. “Honestly, it's kind of inspiring for me because it makes me just want to train and try to get better, and hopefully just give it my very best shot again and see what happens. But I think I can't be mad or upset at myself.”

America’s Madison Keys is another notable name to have withdrawn from the competition. Keys' withdrawal came as a surprise, considering she had a very short stint at the US Open, where she was knocked out after losing in the first round to Mexico’s Renata Zarazua with a score of 6-7, 7-6, 7-5. It was arguably one of the biggest upsets in the first round of the fourth and final Grand Slam in 2025. With Keys' withdrawal, all three top-ranked American women’s players, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova and Keys, will not be available for Team USA in the upcoming competition.

The three join the list of other notable players who have withdrawn from the competition earlier. Britain’s Emma Raducanu decided to withdraw from the competition last week. Raducanu decided to feature in a WTA event in Seoul, South Korea, instead of playing in the Billie Jean King Cup. The decision did not go down well with the LTA, who expressed their frustration about the development. "Of course we are disappointed. However, we believe we have a great team and we're looking forward to competing in Shenzhen," an LTA spokesperson said in a brief statement as quoted by the BBC Sports.

Raducanu, at the time of her withdrawal, joined the likes of Spain’s Paula Badosa and Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in not featuring in the competition. Badosa decided not to take part in the competition as she continues to recover from a back injury. In contrast, Jabeur has already announced earlier that she will be taking an extended break to recover from mental health issues.