Iga Swiatek’s 2025 campaign gathers pace after a season that mixed quieter moments with major success. The world No 2 added a first Wimbledon crown to her resume and followed that with a Cincinnati Open victory, taking her to six Grand Slam titles and her 11th WTA 1000-level trophy. Her Grand Slam run ended at the US Open with a quarter-final defeat, but there is still significant tennis to play and the opportunity to press for the world No 1 ranking.

Her provisional schedule points to an immediate return on the WTA’s Asian swing. Swiatek is due to begin at the WTA 500 Korea Open in Seoul next week. That will be her debut at this WTA 500 event after withdrawing from the 2024 tournament while under provisional suspension following a failed drug test in August 2024. She is slated to be the top seed in Seoul, where Amanda Anisimova and Emma Raducanu are also expected to compete.

After Korea, Swiatek is set for one of the season’s remaining WTA 1000 tournaments in Beijing. She lifted the China Open title in 2023, a run highlighted by dropping only one set, to Caroline Garcia in the quarter-finals, before defeating Liudmila Samsonova in the final. Her provisional suspension prevented her from defending that title in 2024, so the 2025 appearance will be only her second at the event and she will aim to preserve her prior success there.

October promises a first at the Wuhan Open. Swiatek was previously too low-ranked to play before the tournament’s 2020-23 break, and the 2024 edition returned during her provisional ban, so 2025 will be her Wuhan debut. Aryna Sabalenka has won the title in the last three stages of the tournament, a streak Swiatek and others will look to challenge.

Regardless of the Asian swing results, Swiatek’s place at the WTA Finals is secure; she sits second in the race to Riyadh and is on track for a fourth consecutive appearance after debuting at the Year-End Championships in Guadalajara in 2021 and winning the title in Cancun in 2023. At last year’s Finals she exited in the group stage after wins over Barbora Krejcikova and Daria Kasatkina and a defeat to Coco Gauff.

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.”