Emma Raducanu’s decision to walk away from representing her nation in the Billie Jean King Cup finals has sent shockwaves through British tennis.
Raducanu has decided that chasing ranking points is a bigger priority than playing for her country and that is as much a reflection of the fading significance of the women’s World Cup of tennis as it is a lack of patriotism from the 2021 US Open champion.
Her decision probably ends Great Britain’s hopes of success in the competition that is being staged in China later this month, with their quarter-final match against Japan now likely to be contested by the out-of-form Katie Boulter and British No 3 Sonay Kartal.
If Raducanu had pulled out of the event to prioritise a training block or deal with injury concerns, Great Britain team captain Anne Keothavong would have accepted her absence as an unfortunate turn of events.
Yet the Keothavong and the British team that will be flying out to Shenzen for the event featuring eight teams will be disappointed to see their star performer opting to play in the WTA 500 Korea Open in Seoul that week instead.
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From a professional perspective, it may be the right decision, as the ranking points Raducanu could collect in Seoul may fire her up into the top 30 in the world and secure her a seeded position in the Australian Open in January.
Yet the optics of this decision are a more than a little awkward, with Raducanu’s team-mates unlikely to be impressed by her decision and British tennis bosses who have given her so much backing through the junior ranks and into the seniors also likely to be disappointed.
The move must also cast huge doubts over Raducanu’s long-term commitment to the Billie Jean King Cup team, with this competition clearly low on her list of priorities.
The International Tennis Federation scheduled the finals of this year’s Billie Jean King Cup at a time of the year when the tennis world is embarking on the Asian swing of the WTA Tour.
Yet one of the most recognisable players in the game has sent out a strong message that winning honours for your nation is less desirable than personal glory and it may now be surprising if Raducanu plays Billie Jean King Cup tennis any time soon.
She will not be the first player to walk away from team events, with many of the game’s biggest stars only playing for their nation when the time is right for them.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray all pulled out of Davis Cup matches when they were chasing personal glory and several team captains in the Billie Jean King Cup have been forced to select second-string teams in recent years as big names like Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff have opted against playing the competition.
Now Raducanu is the latest big name to sidestep a competition that is fighting to retain its relevance in a modern tennis calendar that is crammed from 10 months of the year.