Sonay Kartal’s Billie Jean King Cup withdrawal completes exodus of GB’s big names

Sonay Kartal has withdrawn from the Billie Jean King Cup tie against Australia, leaving Great Britain without their top four women’s players for the contest in Melbourne.

Emma Raducaunu, Katie Boulter, and Francesca Jones were not part of the initial squad having chosen to focus on their clay-court seasons instead of travelling across the world for the qualifier.

Great Britain have punched above their weight as a middling tennis power by reaching the semi-finals of this global team event for the last two years in a row, although that trend could end against Australia.

Kartal’s decision to withdraw is not a shock. She withdrew from the Miami Open on the eve of the tournament with a back issue that forced her to retire in the round of 16 against Elena Rybakina at Indian Wells the week before. No injury, let alone a back issue, is likely to be aided by flying to and from Australia for a handful of matches across a weekend.

Instead she will be replaced by Katie Swan, ranked 264th in the world, who joins Harriet Dart (181 singles, 128 doubles), Mika Stojsavljevic (276) and Jodie Burrage (495 singles, 208 doubles) to make up Anne Keothavong’s Great Britain squad.

Farcical travel dictates availability

When Raducanu made the decision not to travel to the finals in Shenzhen last year to prioritise her work with then-new coach Francis Roig, there were criticisms over her choice to spurn joining up with teammates.

However, this time with the travel involved, convincing any top player to disrupt their preparations, fly for 24 hours to play a best of five matches of four singles and one doubles rubber, then fly another day back to Europe for the clay court season.

For any player it would be a tough ask, let alone for the likes of Raducanu and Kartal who are recovering from illness and injury respectively and have already dropped out of major competitions with ranking points available.

“The Billie Jean King Cup, I have given myself, my heart , my body and much more to it. I love my country,” Boulter said in Miami, when asked about her decision to not take part this Spring.

“I will put everything on the line for my country, so I think for me the decision was pretty difficult. But I started the year 120 in the world, last year I played through multiple injuries for the Billie Jean King Cup. Realistically I shouldn’t have played on the clay with my foot, the first [tie] especially, and I still decided to play for my country because I think it’s the biggest honour you can possibly have. [Missing it] wasn’t a light-hearted decision I can assure you.”

For the women’s players in particular the team environment is an attractive prospect and a stark difference to the isolation that many can experience on the tour, but the demands of players already struggling with the schedule is understandably one step too far.

“I love playing for my country and I’d happily get on a flight to Australia to play,” Boulter said when asked about the distance. “But don’t get me wrong, it is difficult getting on a plane for 24 hours, but I guess it’s the same for everyone.

“I think if there was a neutral ground, it would be a little easier to be a little closer to home and not so disruptive, but that is the beauty of the Billie Jean King Cup, and I love the support for it.”

There is no question yet that ties be moved to a neutral venue to allow players to take a short-haul flight rather than crossing multiple time zones, but if top players continue to spurn the opportunity to play, surely it has to be considered by the tournament organisers.

Is the Billie Jean King Cup losing its special status?

In November 2024, the top players in Great Britain united to compete in the finals in Malaga, it was well-supported and an enjoyable occasion. Led by Raducanu and Boulter, the women went further than the men for the first time in more than decade and reached the semi-finals.

It was an important moment for Raducanu’s return from a foot injury and she won three successive matches, but the year after, the finals were moved to Shenzhen in China, and brought forward by two months to September.

Instead of having a standalone place at the end of the season, the finals coincided with the Korea Open in Seoul and forced players to try and make time amid a busy Asia swing, and choose to spurn events to play for their country, as Raducanu chose to do.

Australia’s highest-ranked female player, Maya Joint, has withdrawn from the tie as she continues to deal with a back issue, leaving their squad similarly depleted.

If the top players continue to spurn the opportunity to represent their country, favouring instead their own ranking points or tournaments, there is the danger that it could start to offer more ceremony than substance.