Emma Raducanu is poised to make her return to the Billie Jean King Cup after being selected for Great Britain’s upcoming qualifiers against France.
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British BJK Cup team captain Anne Keothavong announced Raducanu’s inclusion in the squad on Friday for the tie, scheduled to take place between April 12-13 in Le Portel, France. Alongside Raducanu, Keothavong also named recent San Diego champion Katie Boulter, as well as Harriet Dart and Heather Watson.
This will be Raducanu’s second on-court appearance in the Billie Jean King Cup. Although she was named in the squad in 2020, she did not play. In the qualifiers against the Czech Republic in April 2022, Raducanu was the top-ranked British woman and played in two matches.
She secured a victory against Tereza Martincova in her first BJK Cup match but then lost to 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in her following match.
“I’m delighted to be traveling with a full-strength team off the back of some terrific results recently,” Keothavong said in a statement. “The French side will present a significant challenge as always, but we all know how representing GB inspires us and each year we are getting stronger and better as a team.”
After facing heavy criticism last year, Raducanu is now set for her BJK Cup return. Although she made her BJK Cup debut in April 2022, Raducanu did not play in the BJK Cup Finals later that year. She also skipped Britain’s 2023 qualifiers tie against France because it was played on hard court, and she was scheduled to play at a clay-court tournament in Stuttgart the following week. Approximately a year ago, Raducanu received significant criticism and backlash in the British media for her decision regarding the BJK Cup.
However, earlier this month, Raducanu indicated that she would play against France this year because the tie is on clay, which would not pose any issues for her participation in Stuttgart.
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