Legend Billie Jean King admits the tennis world is “really lucky” to have Emma Raducanu and the British No 1 is playing very well despite her US Open exit.

The British No 1 saw her US Open hopes ended in the third round with a crushing 6-1 6-2 defeat by Elena Rybakina to end a promising summer campaign.

Raducanu’s next appearance is expected to be when she leads her country in China, with Britain facing Japan in the quarter-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup on September 18 and hoping to at least match last year’s run to the last four.

Raducanu is on a five-match winning run in the Billie Jean King Cup having gone unbeaten in 2024 and her team-mates stepped up when she opted to miss the qualifiers in April, with victories over Germany and the Netherlands booking Britain’s spot in Shenzhen.

King said: “Raducanu is very articulate, she’s very good at getting up and speaking, covering a lot of subjects. You can tell she thinks about a lot of things compared to a lot of the players.

“I think we’re really lucky to have her but she likes it, she likes playing for her country. If I were her, I’d be pretty excited. She’s playing very well and the main thing is she’s injury-free, her body’s healthy again.”

Raducanu will be joined in the team by Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal and Jodie Burrage for what will be the start of the final stretch of the season in Asia.

She is also due to play at the WTA 1000 China Open in Beijing starting from September 24 – live on Sky Sports.

But staying healthy will be Raducanu’s number one goal, given injury has denied her the chance to play most of the Asian swing for the past two years.

After her exit from New York, Raducanu stressed her desire to maintain the momentum that she has built as she looks to secure a seeding at the Australian Open in January.

She is looking forward to working more with new coach Francisco Roig, saying: “I think you take a few steps forward, one step back, but I think overall I’m working and building towards good things.

“I’m just enjoying my tennis, for the most part. In the big scheme of things I’m working towards playing better and being a better tennis player, more complete overall and looking forward to going back to Asia.

“I’ve never really played an Asia swing, so I hope this year I’ll be able to.”

Raducanu had breezed through to the third round at Flushing Meadows but for the fourth Grand Slam in a row, her hopes were ended by one of the women’s tour’s biggest names.

The 2021 champion can reflect positively on her first two wins in New York since lifting the trophy four years ago, but a significant gap to the very top remains.

Speaking on Sky Sports, former British No 1 Tim Henman said: “We’re talking about her up against a top-10 player, one of the best players out there.

“There’s been a lot of positives this hard-court season but this was certainly a bit of a reality check. Difficult day but she’ll learn a lot from it.”

Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli believes Raducanu’s consistency both on and off court shows she is on the right track.

“What is very positive is she has been starting her American swing back all the way in Washington, played non-stop without getting an injury and played really good tennis,” said the Frenchwoman.

“Yes she lost to top-10 players but there is nothing to be ashamed of to start with. I think it’s just those beginning of points against a top ball striker that she struggled a bit with. But who will not struggle with that?

“I was courtside and the ball was coming so fast out of the racket. So close to the line as well.

“For Emma, it’s just keep getting the strong ball-striking that she could get against lower-ranked players, establish her game style and then she will get used more and more to playing against those top players.

“The more you put yourself against those top players, the more you learn.”

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