(Tennis news) Emma Raducanu won’t feature in Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals qualifying tie against France next month. Captain Anne Keothavong has named the same team that reached the semi-finals last September and said that Raducanu was “unavailable” from April 14-15 in Coventry. After her victory at the Indian Wells, Raducanu publicly said that she was unaware of when the qualifying tie was, a remark that wasn’t taken well by captain Keothavong who responded with a thinking emoji on social media and said “My communication skills are generally good in case anyone was wondering.”

Explaining her decision to keep faith with Harriet Dart, Heather Watson, Katie Boulter, Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls, Keothavong said: “I’m pleased to name the same team as the one we had four months ago in Glasgow where we gelled so well, and the team spirit was electric. There were some memorable performances across the week to help us reach the semi-finals. Harriet showed us what she’s capable of by beating the likes of (Paula) Badosa and (Ajla) Tomljanovic.

“We saw Alicia and Olivia make their Cup debut, where they brought so much energy to the court and demonstrated how important doubles is. Katie and Heather have a proven track record in this competition and are enthusiastic as ever to be part of this team. While Emma is unavailable for this tie we look forward to seeing her back on the team in the near future.” Raducanu missed out on November’s finals due to a wrist injury and was eliminated in the fourth round of the Indian Wells by world number 1 Iga Swiatek.

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