Emma Raducanu remains hopeful she will be able to compete this week at the United Cup after her 2026 season began with a concerning false start when she was forced to withdraw from her opening match in Perth because of a foot injury.

Raducanu pulled out of her highly anticipated clash with Naomi Osaka only an hour before play got under way but the Great Britain team admirably battled hard in the searing heat and emerged from a tough day with a solid 2-1 win over Japan.

Billy Harris, who played in the absence of the British men’s No 1, Jack Draper, opened the tie by defeating Shintaro Mochizuki 7-6 (4), 6-3. Raducanu was replaced by Katie Swan, who performed well against a much higher-ranked opponent before losing 7-6 (4), 6-1 to Osaka. In the decisive rubber, Neal Skupski and Olivia Nicholls used their doubles expertise to seal the tie with a 7-5, 4-6, 10-7 win over Nao Hibino and Yasutaka Uchiyama.

The first week of the tennis season has done little to change public opinion of Britain’s top players, Draper and Raducanu, whose young careers have been filled with numerous physical problems.

The duo were two of the earliest commitments for the United Cup, an exciting team that immediately established Britain as one of the tournament favourites, but once again Draper and Raducanu have instead had to manage their frail bodies.

Draper was forced to withdraw from the Australian swing as he continues to recover from bone bruising to his left arm, extending his absence to six months. Raducanu’s problems are less severe, but this foot injury has affected her for more than two months after she prematurely ended her 2025 season because of injury and illness in October. Raducanu has spent the past week in Perth training hard, but this is still another disappointing setback.

After his team’s victory, the Great Britain captain, Tim Henman, shed more light on an injury that has seriously affected Raducanu’s preparation for the new season.

“She struggled with her foot for the end of last year,” Henman said. “The improvement that she’s made has been fantastic. She’s been practising 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 [Monday], 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.”

The 23-year-old was present all day inside the RAC Arena, loudly cheering and offering her colleagues advice on the Great Britain team from her bench alongside her coach, Francisco Roig.

Before Swan took to the court, Raducanu struck a hopeful tone. “At the end of the day, it’s a team event and Katie’s playing great so it gives me an extra day, so looking forward to this match,” she said.

The absence of the top British men’s and women’s players represented an opportunity for the remainder of the GB team, and they took it admirably. Harris, the men’s No 128, only learned that he would be taking Draper’s place in this event on Christmas Eve, less than a week before most players began to travel to Perth. Last year, he also replaced an injured Draper at the United Cup, performing well against higher-ranked opponents but losing all three matches.

This time, Harris took advantage of a winnable matchup to secure his first victory in the competition, overpowering the world No 99, Mochizuki, with his superior serve and forehand. Swan, ranked 260 ranking spots below Osaka at No 276, played a strong first set and led 5-3 before the four-time grand slam champion found her form and took control to level the match.

In the decisive rubber, Nicholls and Skupski held their nerve in the final stages of a tense final-set tie-break to seal the victory. “We tried to stay positive, stay together, keep the communication high,” said Skupski. “We had great support from the bench. That’s kind of what I think got us over the line.”

Great Britain will face Greece next for a guaranteed spot in the quarter-finals. The Greek team, which easily defeated Japan on Friday, is led by the former top-three players Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari.