Emma Raducanu is edging her way back to fitness after suffering a stress fracture in her lower leg during her run to the final of the WTA 500 event at the Queen’s Club in June, but it seems she has delayed plans to make a return at the end of this month.
Raducanu’s name remained on the entry list for the WTA 1000 event in Beijing when it was released earlier this month, sparking hopes that the 2021 US Open champion may be on course to make a return to action in China.
She released footage last week of a practice session at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre last week showing her serving into a court that didn’t have an opponent to hit the ball back to her, which suggested she is at the early stages of her latest injury comeback push.
So it is no surprise that Raducanu’s name is no longer appearing on the Beijing entry list, as she will need to be cautious as she makes a return from what is a serious leg injury.
Many experts suggested Raducanu would be out for some time with the injury, with former world No 1 Andy Roddick among those bemoaning her absence from the WTA Tour.
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“We might not even see her for the rest of this year,” said Roddick on his podcast.
“It just stinks because she is so good and it’s just the stop and start of things. You can’t get around a stress fracture, that’s not a pain tolerance thing at all.
“It has to heal or you are going to cause extreme long-term damage. It just stinks. She could be such a bright spot for the Tours and it just seems like there are speed bumps all the time, which is just unfortunate.
“It sucks. I hope she gets better. She was playing great at Queen’s too, like she was going to blow the roof off of Wimbledon. She is so good and so injured all the time.
“It’s got to be kind of depressing for her too. I keep thinking we are going to get six months where we are going to be able to go and play and do all the things and we are just not able to get it, which is unfortunate.”
Raducanu’s career has been a stop-start story since her iconic US Open win five years ago, with the British player sliding down the WTA Rankings after her latest lay-off.
She will lose more ranking points from her record if she doesn’t play again in 2026, with her current ranking of No 89 certain to move in the wrong direction again if she cannot get back on court.
