Emma Czechs out of cup

EMMA RADUCANU’S physical frailties struck again as Great Britain suffered a 3-2 defeat to the Czech Republic in their Billie Jean King Cup tie.

Raducanu (above) struggled with a blister on her right foot in Prague yesterday and lost 6-1 6-1 to Marketa Vondrousova in only 62 minutes on just her second professional match on clay.

That put the Czechs within sight of victory in the play-off but Harriet Dart beat 16-year-old rookie Linda Fruhvirtova to force a deciding doubles rubber.

However, Dart and Katie Swan were unable to pull off the upset, losing in straight sets to Vondrousova and Karolina Muchova.

US Open champion Raducanu now faces a race against time to be fit for next week’s WTA Tour event in Stuttgart and she said: “It’s very disappointing when you’re out there playing a rubber for your country and you feel completely redundant.”

The Czechs clinched their place in November’s finals week but Britain could still yet join them if the LTA’s bid to host the event is successful.