Emma Raducanu Set to Prioritize an Injury-Free 2026 season with Plans to Skip Tournaments

Emma Raducanu will kick off her 2026 season at the United Cup alongside Jack Draper.

Emma Raducanu Set to Prioritize an Injury-Free 2026 season with Plans to Skip Tournaments

Emma Raducanu (via X/The Tennis Letter)

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Emma Raducanu has announced some changes to her personal calendar next season, as she looks set to compete in fewer tournaments with the aim of safeguarding her physical form. The British star is currently in the top 30 of the WTA rankings, which gives her a seeded position at the upcoming Australian Open.

Raducanu was able to rediscover her physical form for the majority of last season, which helped her maintain an impressive competitive rhythm on the court. During the 2025 season, she participated in 10 WTA 1000 tournaments, which is the first time in her career that she has played in that number of 1000-level events in a season.

Also, it was a season in which she picked up some great results and showed her impact on tour. For the first time in her career, she made it to the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami. During the clay-court swing, she reached the fourth round of the Italian Open before losing to Coco Gauff.

She finished the year with a brilliant 28-22 win-loss record, more triumphs than ever for a single season, and a total of 50 matches, well above the 36 of the 2022 and 2024 seasons. But after the 2025 US Open, she began to struggle with injuries, which prevented her from getting the best of the Asian swing.

Having made significant progress this year, Raducanu is opting to make some changes ahead of next season. In an interview with the BBC Today Programme via Tennis365, she revealed that she’s aiming to play in fewer tournaments in 2026 than this year. She pointed out that the reason for the change is a result of a new approach to the sport:

I would say next year I hope to play less than I did this year. But I think also just incorporating fitness into my warm-ups, so it’s not just my fitness sessions that are set for it. You just have to try and drip feed as much as you can in for the overall health of your body, little and often, is the biggest thing that has helped. And most of all, I think I found a lot more peace with myself and I’m a lot happier with how I’m approaching my tennis and how I’m approaching the team that I have.

Despite the success, Raducanu never got past the third round of any Grand Slam tournament this season. The former World No.10 faced Iga Swiatek twice and Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina once in Grand Slams in 2025, losing to all of them. Next year, should she remain in the top 30, she might have the chance to meet them later in major tournaments.

Emma Raducanu admits she’s more relaxed going into the 2026 season

Emma Raducanu found her calm on the court in March 2025 after appointing Mark Petchey as her coach for a short period of time. The British coach brought strength into her game, and that saw her rise from World No.60 to the top 40, before Rafael Nadal’s ex-coach, Francisco Roig, helped her get to No.29.

Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu (Image via X/Emma Raducanu Fan)

Having gotten that far in the WTA rankings, Raducanu revealed during the aforementioned interview that she feels quite content about her performance on the court and her life off the court. The British No.1 that she’s more relaxed about the 2026 season would be for her as she begins her pre-season training:

I feel quite content with how things are going on and off the court. I’m in a pretty good place. In any challenges I have been facing with the foot or my health at the end of the season, I feel in a good place, and I’m building back in the gym, to start with. And I’m feeling pretty relaxed ahead of next year, which is a good place to be.

Raducanu is set to kick off her 2026 season at the United Cup alongside British star Jack Draper. It will be the first time that Raducanu will be competing in team events, having often prioritized the Auckland Classics on previous occasions. After the United Cup, she will then feature at the Australian Open.

Also Read: Daria Kasatkina Reveals Reason Behind Ending 2025 Season Early: “It Was Very Weird”