Johanna Konta: British No 1 to miss Fed Cup in 2020
"Everyone who is important to me does know about this decision and has been really supportive and on board with it"
Friday 17 January 2020 09:20, UK
Johanna Konta will be fit to play in the Australian Open but has announced she will not compete for Great Britain in the Fed Cup this year in an attempt to protect herself from injury.
Konta is Britain's best female player by some distance and has won her last 11 singles matches in Fed Cup, the most recent two to help Britain to victory over Kazakhstan last April.
That saw Britain finally promoted back to World Group level after 26 years, although a subsequent revamp of the competition means they must win a play-off against Slovakia in Bratislava next month to book a spot at the inaugural finals week in Budapest in April.
Konta's absence will make the Slovakia tie extremely difficult but the world No 13 insisted she had the blessing of GB captain Anne Keothavong.
"I had a really good chat with Anne in November and so everyone who is important to me does know about this decision and has been really supportive and on board with it," she said.
"It's kind of a combination of things: it's an Olympic year, I'm looking to schedule things slightly differently for the longevity of my body and to be able to come back in following years and hopefully play more Fed Cup."
The 28-year-old revealed last month that she had struggled with a niggling knee problem for much of 2019, cutting short what had been a brilliant season after the US Open.
She has only played one match since, losing to Barbora Strycova in Brisbane last week before withdrawing from the WTA tournament in Adelaide to prioritise practice.
I've had a good week here and I'm looking forward to getting started.
"When I left London I was still coming out of my last stage of rehabbing the knee and what we decided was best was for me to be able to get some more court time, some more practice sets," the 12th-seeded Konta said ahead of her first-round match with Tunisian Ons Jabeur.
"So we're here and I've had a good week here and I'm looking forward to getting started.
"The worst thing that can happen is that I lose and I go home and prepare for the rest of the season. So it wouldn't be the end of the world, but I am here because I am ready to compete and that's what I'm going to do, the best I can."
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