Emma Raducanu named in Billie Jean King Cup Finals squad but might not play singles due to ranking setback

Emma Raducanu could be in a difficult situation when she plays at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals (BJK). The tournament will run from the 16th-21st September in Shenzhen, China, with Great Britain set to be involved. They will be hoping to go for a deep run in the competition that they have never won, with their last final appearance back in 1981 when it was known as the Federation Cup.

The BJK Cup is a team event where fellow countrywomen team up to play singles and doubles for their country. Italy are the current champions led by Jasmine Paolini, while the USA have had the most success in the competition with 18 titles. The tournament was named after former number one Billie Jean King back in 2020.

Great Britain defeated Germany and the Netherlands to qualify for the finals. Their quarter-finals will be against Japan, with the winner either facing Kazakhstan or the USA. Each tie will have two singles matches and one doubles tie, all consisting of best of three sets. Raducanu did not feature in these games, opting to take a training block.

Raducanu risk of missing out on singles

The British team has been chosen by captain Anne Keothavong, and it is a strong team which includes the former US Open champion. She will be joined by British number one Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal and Jodie Burrage.

Despite losing in the second round of Wimbledon to lucky loser Solona Sierra, Boulter is the number one Brit, ranked 41 in the world. Kartal is now the number two Brit after a successful run at Wimbledon, losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the round of 16, which saw her rise to world number 45, one place ahead of Raducanu.

For the BJK Cup, this means Boulter and Kartal will play the singles rubbers, a big blow for Raducanu who would only be involved in the doubles, missing out on the singles rubbers. This was despite her being the number one British woman after reaching the quarter-finals at Queens.

Opportunity for Raducanu to move up the rankings

With the BJK Cup not for almost two months, there is still time for Raducanu to make some progress on the rankings to go above her fellow Brits. There are two 1000 Masters events and a Grand Slam before the finals are held, with these competitions the perfect opportunity for the 22-year-old to get some wins under her belt.

Firstly, she will have to defend the quarter-final she reached in last year's Washington WTA 500 event. She kicks off her campaign tonight against number 27 Marta Kostyuk. A win here could see her face off against multiple Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the next round.

Despite the fact that she may fall down the rankings after Washington if she does not get a good result, the 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati offer the perfect chance for her to gain ranking points back due to her not playing in them last year. This gives her an advantage over Boulter, who has to defend the points she claimed when she reached the round of 16 in last year's Canadian Open, losing to number one Aryna Sabalenka.

The events run back-to-back right ahead of the US Open held in Flushing Meadows, the event which propelled her into fame after winning it in 2021. If she can use this opportunity to get some wins, then she could bypass Kartal and Boulter to place herself as the number one Brit again. If this does not happen, then Keothavong could decide to drop the higher ranked players in favour of Raducanu.

The captain may choose to drop Boulter which would see Kartal as the number one Brit with Raducanu moving up to number two.