On Sunday, Great Britain secured victory in their opening match at the United Cup in Perth, Australia.
The British team were forced to make a last minute change on Sunday morning following Emma Raducanu’s last-minute withdrawal.
Katie Swan, Raducanu’s replacement, fell to a straight sets loss against four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.
However, British number four Billy Harris produced a superb display to defeat former Wimbledon junior champion Shintaro Mochizuki.
In the deciding mixed doubles, Neal Skupski and Olivia Nicholls defeated Nao Hibino and Yasutaka Uchiyama 7-5, 4-6, 10-7.
Following the contest, Great Britain captain Tim Henman offered his thoughts.
Tim Henman wanted Great Britain to enjoy the challenge and compete for every point ahead of their victory over Japan
Henman, who also captained the British team in 2025, was interviewed by Catherine Whitaker on Sky Sports after Skupski and Nicholls’ tie-clinching triumph on Sunday morning.
When asked about whether the ‘dastardly’ timeout he used during the final set tiebreak made the difference, Henman responded by highlighting the Japanese team’s initial use of the tactical break.
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Henman said: “Well it was instigated by the Japan team [the timeout], they went first. It was certainly on the radar when we got into the deciding tiebreak.
“But as Liv [Olivia Nicholls] mentioned the spirit has been so good since we arrived in Perth and we all got together. Their work ethic, you know, the camaraderie has been outstanding.
“I had two sort of requests I wanted them to go out there and really enjoy the challenge and just compete for every point, and whether it’s Billy or Katie, or these two in the doubles, that’s exactly what they’ve done and I couldn’t be happier, couldn’t be prouder to be captain.”
Great Britain face Greece in their final United Cup match on Monday. Greece, led by two former world number threes in the form of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari, defeated Japan 2-0 in their United Cup opener.
Tsitsipas, who struggled throughout the 2025 season, defeated Shintaro Mochizuki in his opening match of 2026.
Henman calls on British fans in Perth to lend their support
Henman was also asked to send a message to any British fans in Perth ahead of their contest against Greece.
“We need them, we certainly need them,” Henman said.
“Greece have got a great team and they’ve started off strongly and we’re going to enjoy this moment and we’ll be ready to go tomorrow night.”
British fans will have to wait and see whether Emma Raducanu will be available for Monday.
Ahead of Britain’s match against Japan, Tim Henman provided an update regarding Raducanu’s condition.
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As per The First Serve, Henman told Channel Nine: “I don’t think she is necessarily out of this tournament just yet.”
