Emma Raducanu has revealed that she “doesn’t know” when Britain’s next Billie Jean King Cup tie will be held. It comes after the LTA announced that Coventry had been picked to host the qualifier against France from April 14 to 15. And team captain Anne Keothavong has now responded to Raducanu’s comments after it emerged that her top player was unaware of their impending tie.
Britain will face France in a BJK Cup qualifier tie on home soil next month – dates that have been established since the end of last year despite a venue only being picked last week. But it has now emerged that the country’s top-ranked female player was unaware of the schedule.
Raducanu revealed that she “doesn’t even know” when Britain will face France when asked about her participation in next month’s tie following her first-round victory in Indian Wells. And her comment has caught the attention of Britain’s BJK Cup captain, who took to Twitter to clarify that she had good communication skills despite one of her players being unaware of their next tie.
“I don’t even know when it is, to be honest,” Raducanu said of Britain’s qualifier weekend against France – something that will be worrying news for those hoping the world No 77 will play. “I haven’t thought about it. I’ve just been so in my zone as I’ve said. I’ll decide [on my participation] later.”
Keothavong – who has captained Britain’s BJK Cup squad since 2017 – has now responded on Twitter, replying to one report of Raducanu’s quotes with a thinking Emoji. She then shared a separate tweet, writing: “My communication skills are generally good in case anyone was wondering.”
The 20-year-old’s claim that she isn’t aware of the tie date will likely come as a big surprise to Keothavong and all involved, as the dates have been in place for months. The BJK Cup captain is also said to be in Indian Wells this week as she begins to narrow down her squad for next month’s tie, where Britain will face France for a spot in the BJK Cup Finals at the end of the year.
Raducanu’s only BJK Cup call-up came at the qualifier stage last year, where she headed up Britain’s team in an away tie against the Czech Republic where they lost 2-3 over the weekend. But Britain managed to get into the Finals by hosting the week-long showdown and reached the semi-final for the first time since 1981, while Raducanu was forced to pull out of the competition with a wrist injury.
Keothavong will still have plenty of other options if the world No 77 ends up choosing not to play next month, including the likes of Britain’s No 2 Harriet Dart. Doubles specialists Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls also proved crucial to the team’s success at November’s tie and will likely be on the captain’s radar once again in case the tie goes down to a decisive doubles as it did in Prague 11 months ago.
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