Britain's No 1 tennis player, Johanna Konta. has announced that she will sit out the 2020 Fed Cup in a bid to protect her body and prolong her playing career.

The 28-year-old was an integral part of Great Britain's history making-side last year when she won both her singles matches against Kazakhstan to help GB reach the World Group II stage for the first time in 26 years.

However, she has only played one tournament since the US Open at the end of September due to a knee injury and told BBC Sport: "I need to take care of my body and take some decisions which are not always easy."

With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on the horizon, she assures fans that this is not complete retirement from the Fed Cup but a long-term strategy in order to maximise her chances at the Olympics and allow her to play more Fed Cup seasons in the future.

"Hopefully it will give me the longevity I want," she said, but was careful not to raise hopes too much when talking of her current fitness adding: "I'm getting there. It's [her knee pain] not acute, it's something that is manageable and something that will continue to be managed for quite some time."

Konta says she will still compete at the Australian Open, in which she is seeded 12th and faces Tunisia's Ons Kabeur in the first round.

Her best run at the slam was four years ago when she reached the semi-final losing out in straight sets (5-7, 2-6) to the eventual champion, Angelique Kerber.