Great Britain face a heavily depleted team at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals after another key player has joined Emma Raducanu on the sidelines after shoulder trouble.
Katie Boulter stepped up in Le Portel without a clay-court win in her career. Defeat to Diane Parry pegged the British contingent back and kept Boulter waiting.
The British number one finally notched up her maiden win on the red dirt with victory over last-minute entrant Clare Burel.
Then, in stepped Emma Raducanu, with barely any minutes under her belt since a heavily disrupted, injury-stricken 2023.
A tidy defeat to Parry as well as a shock upset over Caroline Garcia saw Great Britain advance to the finals for the first time since 2022.
However, the team’s hopes of further success now lie in a state of peril after injury has rocked the camp.
Raducanu initially announced her WTA return in Hong Kong after a foot injury hindered her Seoul campaign.
However, having seemingly overshot her recovery time, Raducanu pulled out of the Hong Kong Open, joining an apologetic Naomi Osaka on the sidelines.
British number three and BJK Cup staple Harriet Dart has also issued a statement after being forced out of the Guangzhou Open.
Dart announced the news that she was more or less ending her 2024 season via her Instagram story on Wednesday 23rd October: “Hey guys. A little update from me. Been struggling a lot since the us open with my shoulder/back & personal reasons so I won’t be competing again in an individual tournament this year.
“I look forward to seeing you all next year, but first see you in Malaga for BJKC representing [emoji of the Union Jack] on November 15th!”
The news comes as a major concern for the rest of the squad, who despite making British WTA history recently, now face a race against time to have a fully fit squad.
The Brits are set to take on Germany in their first match of the knock-out stages on Friday 15 November.
Team captain and former professional Anne Keothavong has named a strong team, including four of the five players that defeated France in April’s qualifying match.
Sonay Kartal, due to her recent title in Monastir and rise into the top 100, might be needed to step in if the injuries persist.
The remaining ten teams are Australia, Last year winners Canada, Czechia, 2023 runners-up Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, hosts Spain, and the USA.
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