Emma Raducanu Hopes She’s on the Right Path Heading Into the 2026 Season
Emma Raducanu will make her United Cup debut against Japan's Naomi Osaka.
Follow Us
Emma Raducanu (Image via X/Emma Raducanu Fan)
🔍 Explore this post with:
Emma Raducanu believes she’s on the right path towards achieving success in 2026 as she kicks off her campaign at the United Cup in Perth, Australia. The former World No.10 has been away from the court since October after picking up an injury at the Ningbo Open, after crashing out in the opening rounds of the event.
Raducanu begins the 2026 season with some sort of stability in her game after enduring an up-and-down campaign last year. The 23-year-old began 2025, struggling with her game on the court but finally found her form in March at the Miami Open after hiring Mark Petchey as her temporary coach.
The British No.1 then began to produce some consistent results on the court, first reaching the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami, second, getting to the fourth round of the Italian Open (her best run on the clay court), and then reaching the semi-finals of the Washington Open before losing to Anna Kalinskaya.
Besides that, Raducanu remained healthy enough to play regularly on the court and return to the top 30. In fact, she’s ranked No. 29 and has ultimately secured her place in the draw for the Australian Open, which kicks off on the 18th. Her coaching partnership with Francisco Roig, the former coach of Rafael Nadal, has looked promising since they started working together in August.
Ahead of 2026, Raducanu strengthened her team by hiring a physiotherapist and strength and conditioning coach Emma Stewart. During an interview with The Guardian, Raducanu revealed that she hopes to continue with her 2025 success into the new season. The British star added that she has had some good practices since returning from injury:
I think for me it’s just about stacking the good days. I’ve been putting in some good practices. Even if each practice isn’t as perfect as you want it to be, I think just the consistency of it is the most important thing. That’s what really helped me last year. So I just hope to carry that on and enjoy the tennis, enjoy the process of what I’m doing, which right now I am.
Raducanu will make her debut at the mixed-gender team competition in Perth. She will be representing Great Britain, who will kick off their campaign against Japan on Sunday (January 4). Raducanu will face former World No.1 and former Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka and will take on Greece star Maria Sakkari in the next tie.
Emma Raducanu reveals she’s physically healthier this year than last season
Emma Raducanu has often performed well when representing her country. During the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga, she was the only British player not to be beaten. She led the team to the quarter-finals of the tournament. She will hope for the same at the 2026 United Cup, but she will compete with the likes of Iga Swiatek, Jasmine Paolini, and Coco Gauff, who are leading their countries.
During the aforementioned interview, the British star noted that she’s currently a fitter heading into the tournament. Raducanu added that she’s looking forward to having a good week at the United Cup, which will set the momentum for the other tournaments this year:
I became fitter, so I was able to play more matches and more tournaments on the road. That just gives us more opportunities to get some points here and there and also have good weeks when you’re in a good run of momentum to kind of carry that through three, four, five matches. So yeah, that was a really good benefit for me as well. Also, just my approach to playing.
Raducanu will also be aiming to collect a lot of points in tournaments in January and February, as she struggled during that period last season. After the United Cup, she is expected to play at the Australian Open, Qatar Open, Dubai Tennis Championships, before the Sunshine Doubles in March.
/techfirstnow/media/agency_attachments/kATjCXskQdJKkXN0OuqW.png)