Great Britain captain Anne Keothavong says her team have a “real shot” at winning the Billie Jean King Cup despite the absence of Emma Raducanu.
British number one Raducanu withdrew from the team for this week’s Finals so she could play at the Korea Open in Seoul instead.
Raducanu felt an extra week on the WTA Tour with new coach Francisco Roig would be better for the long-term development of her game.
She was replaced in Keothavong’s squad by Francesca Jones, who will line up alongside Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal and Jodie Burrage when Britain face Japan on Thursday.
Boulter – Britain’s number one singles player in Raducanu’s absence – says the team “would have loved” Raducanu to be with them in China.
“I think she’s a huge asset to the team, but ultimately we’ve still got to focus on the team that we have, the people who are here and ready to play,” Boulter told BBC Sport from Shenzhen.
“We can’t look back too much, we’ve got to stay [looking] forward. We qualified off our own bat – I think we are in a really strong position.
“It’s really nice to have the same group of girls that were there before, and it’s great to have some insight from Fran.”
Japan are also without their number one player after Naomi Osaka withdrew following her run to the US Open semi-finals.
“I think we’ve got a real shot at [winning] it,” captain Keothavong said.
“We are the second seeds here, having reached the semi-finals twice in the past few years and come close to going further.”
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