Emma Raducanu appears to have ended her 2026 season after her name disappeared from a few entry lists in upcoming tournaments and it might not be her ongoing injury issue that has inspired her to make that decision.
Raducanu has not hit a ball in competitive tennis since she reached the final of the WTA 500 grass court tournament at the Queen’s Club last June.
Her run in front of her British fans resulted in a stress fracture in her foot that left her on the sidelines for several months, but she did post images of her return to training last month.
Raducanu was hitting balls at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre as she edged her way back to fitness, but initial suggestions that Raducanu was preparing to return in tournaments in China in the final swing of the WTA Tour appear to have been banished.
The 2021 US Open champion has slipped out of the top 100 of the WTA Rankings after her latest period of inactivity and that may be a factor in why she is delaying her comeback now.
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If she is absent for a full six months, she will be able to make use of a protected ranking when she returns to action and that could be her passport to entry into the Australian Open in January.
She will be assured of a wild card into Wimbledon next year if she does not qualify for her home Grand Slam on her ranking and her protected ranking could also give he a chance to enter the French Open or US Open in 2027.
It would also give her a chance to play in some higher-profile WTA Tour events as she looks to rebuild her rankings.
The tournaments Raducanu uses her protected ranking in could be pivotal to her future in tennis, as early defeats would leave her ranking at a place that would leave her entering lower-ranked events.
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She has not been keen to play in WTA 250 or WTA 125 events since that US Open win over five years ago, but the 23-year-old faces a tough task to get her ranking back to where she believes it should be.
There has been no official word from Raducanu’s camp that she has concluded her season, but a return in the next few weeks would mean she is not eligible for a protected ranking and that may be her best chance to leap back up the rankings.
What seems certain next season could be make-or-break for Raducanu and the Brit will need to find a route to maintaining her fitness levels if she is to sustain a career in the sport.
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