Emma Raducanu has chosen to compete at the WTA 500 Korea Open in Seoul instead of joining Great Britain for the Billie Jean King Cup finals in China. The decision, prioritising ranking points over national duty, has immediate consequences for the British team and raises questions about the competition’s standing in the modern calendar.

Raducanu’s withdrawal is likely to dent Great Britain’s chances at the finals staged in Shenzen later this month. Their quarter-final tie with Japan now looks set to be contested without their leading player, with out-of-form Katie Boulter and British No 3 Sonay Kartal expected to shoulder the burden.

Team captain Anne Keothavong would have accepted an absence prompted by injury or the need for a training block, but Raducanu will instead chase points in Seoul. From a professional angle the move is understandable: the ranking points available at the Korea Open could lift her into the top 30 and help secure a seeded place at the Australian Open in January.

The optics, however, are awkward. Team-mates are unlikely to welcome the choice and British tennis administrators who supported her pathway into the professional game may view the decision with disappointment. The move also invites doubt about Raducanu’s long-term commitment to the Billie Jean King Cup, a competition that appears low on her list of priorities.

The International Tennis Federation scheduled the finals during the WTA Tour’s Asian swing, creating a clash that has already influenced player availability. She is not the first high-profile player to skip a team event when personal goals take precedence. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray previously pulled out of Davis Cup matches while pursuing individual objectives. In the Billie Jean King Cup era, several captains have been forced to name weakened teams as leading players such as Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff opted not to play.

Raducanu’s choice is the latest example of a top player prioritising individual ranking and preparation over national team competition in an increasingly crowded calendar.

Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from representing Great Britain in the Billie Jean King Cup quarter-final against Japan after accepting a wild card for the Korea Open. The WTA 500 event in Seoul runs September 15 to 21 and conflicts with the tie scheduled for September 18.

Raducanu had been set to complete the British line-up alongside Katie Boulter, Jodie Burrage and Sonay Kartal. Her replacement is expected to be announced in the coming days. The Japanese delegation named for the tie includes Naomi Osaka, Moyuka Uchijima, Ena Shibahara, Eri Hozumi and Shuko Aoyama. The winner will meet the victor of the quarter-final between the United States and Kazakhstan.

Raducanu has previous history at the Korea Open. In 2024 she reached the quarter-finals but retired in her match against Daria Kasatkina after losing the first set 6-1 because of foot discomfort. In 2022 she progressed one round further but again retired mid-match, this time against top seed Jelena Ostapenko while trailing 3-0 in the third set.

Her decision to prioritise the Seoul event follows a pattern of scheduling choices intended to manage her body. She skipped the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying round against the Netherlands and Germany in April to complete a training block and “look after her body.” Raducanu was instrumental in Great Britain’s run to the semi-finals in the Billie Jean King Cup in 2024, winning all three of her singles matches and securing the team’s only point in their loss to the Slovakian team.

Billie Jean King had previously expressed enthusiasm about Raducanu’s participation in the team event, saying: “I think it’s huge that you can speak the language of wherever you are,” King remarked.

“Raducanu is very articulate as well, she’s very good at getting up and speaking, covering a lot of subjects. You can tell she thinks about a lot of things compared to a lot of the players.

“I think we’re really lucky to have her but she likes it, she likes playing for her country.

“If I were her, I’d be pretty excited. She’s playing very well, and the main thing is she’s injury-free, her body’s healthy again.”

Raducanu has moved back up the rankings to world No 36 after a run of improved results, including a last-four showing at the WTA 500 in Washington. She lost to ninth seed Elena Rybakina 6-1, 6-2 in the third round of the US Open. After Wimbledon she added Francisco Roig to her team and confirmed the partnership will continue for the rest of the season: “Right now we’re working through to the end of the year, and I’m looking forward to just getting back to work really,” she stated. “It’s only been three weeks, but I think it’s been a pretty successful three weeks in the sense of we’ve made good improvement, and I think there are certain parts of my game which have gotten better for sure.”

Coco Gauff spent the weeks leading into the US Open focused on a major overhaul of her service motion, a process that proved both physically and mentally demanding. After splitting with Matt Daly following the Cincinnati Open, she enlisted biomechanical coach Gavin MacMillan and devoted extra time on court to rework her serve. The short window between the WTA 1000 event and the US Open limited how much could be changed, and Gauff paid the price in New York.

She needed three sets to get past Ajla Tomljanovic in round one, and she admitted the sessions with MacMillan were often painful, with her shoulder hurting after training. There were tears during her second-round victory over Donna Vekic, and after a two-set fourth-round loss to Naomi Osaka she said she broke down following her exit at the season-ending Grand Slam.

Some commentators suggested an extended break might help her both recharge and continue the technical work. Gauff, however, confirmed she will not step away from competition and plans to travel to Asia later in September for the China Open. “I have no choice but to do a training block between now and Beijing, just the next tournament I’m signed up for,” she said.

She framed the remainder of the season as a learning period and a lead-in to the Australian swing. “And like, I’ve said this every year after US Open, for me, it’s just improvement mode and to get ready for Australia. I had good results last year after US Open, and I think that’s just because I didn’t, I don’t want to say didn’t care because those tournaments obviously deserve effort, but I don’t know, it’s just that your mindset is different once the Slams are over.”

Gauff is the defending champion in Beijing; that 2024 title run arrived when she was struggling through the North American hard-court swing, unable to defend her Cincinnati and US Open crowns before reversing course with a WTA 1000 trophy and then the WTA Finals title in Saudi Arabia in November. The reigning French Open champion added: “So whatever happens for the rest of the year, I just want it to be an improvement. I don’t care, results-wise. Last year, if he told me I would go win in Beijing and WTA Finals, I would have been like, whatever, as I didn’t really care going into it.

“I’m going to probably have that same mindset. And if I do well, I’ll do well like I did last year. And if not, if not. But I think for me, main improvements I get are from how I do in the Slams.”