Emma Raducanu: British No 1 withdraws from opening match at United Cup due to unknown injury

Emma Raducanu withdrew from her opening match at the United Cup due to an unknown injury - but Great Britain captain Tim Henman is hopeful she will not miss the entire tournament.

Raducanu, 23, was scheduled to play against Japan's Naomi Osaka in Perth on Sunday, only to pull out and be replaced by Katie Swan in the women's singles.

Henman told Australian broadcaster Nine that Raducanu, who has not played since ending her 2025 season in October after a bout of illness in China, was "very, very close" to playing.

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"It was not any easy decision. She had been building up and practising really well. I don't think she is necessarily out of this tournament just yet."

Britain, who defeated Japan 2-1, next face Greece on Monday.

Billy Harris - a replacement for the injured Jack Draper - beat Shintaro Mochizuki 7-6 (6-4) 6-3 on Sunday before Swan lost 6-7 (4-7) 1-6 to four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka.

Doubles pairing Neal Skupski and Olivia Nicholls clinched the tie for Britain as they defeated Yasutaka Uchiyama and Nao Hibino 7-5 4-6 10-7.

"The spirit has been so good since we arrived in Perth," said Henman. "Their work ethic and the camaraderie has been absolutely outstanding. My request was for them to go out there and enjoy the challenge and compete for every point."

Following the win, Henman elaborated on Raducanu in a press conference, saying: "She struggled with her foot for the end of last year. The improvement that she's made has been fantastic.

"She's been practicing in London, really only doing static drills, to be out on the practice court and moving and playing games. She is very close.

"In terms of tomorrow, it's still a little bit up in the air. We're kind of forced to put Emma on the list because if we didn't do that, then that only gives us one option.

"When we get back tonight, we'll discuss it as a team."

In the United Cup, 18 countries are split into six groups of three and play the other teams in their pool once each before the six group winners and two second-placed teams reach the quarter-finals.

Each tie consists of one men's, one women's and one mixed doubles match.

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