Emma Raducanu advised to 'forget the US Open' as comeback remains up in the air

Emma Raducanu has been told to completely disregard the US Open by former British tennis player Andrew Castle as he advised the former champion to get that off her mind after pulling out through injury.

This has been a concerning pattern as of late with Raducanu struggling to find some consistency on court, something that she was relishing this time last year after overcoming other injury problems. Now, it seems that she is back in that rut with her missing the whole North American hardcourt swing after being cruelly prevented the chance of playing at Wimbledon.

It all stemmed from her run to the Queen's Club Championships final. Following just two clay tournaments played, Raducanu was in desperate need of some momentum behind her, and got just that with a marvellous run to the final. She would go on to lose in straight sets to Donna Vekic but it was a great way to begin what was looking to be a really successful and productive grass swing. Except it was not.

Nottingham and Eastbourne participations were scrapped as she mysteriously pulled out. It was made clearer coming closer to Wimbledon as she was seen with a protective boot on. She left it as late as possible before making the tough choice of withdrawing from Wimbledon, and seemingly the injury has not got any better with the whole North American hardcourt swing set to be missed.

From making a return to the top 30 after that Queen's run, Raducanu is now 49th in the world, on the same points as Mayar Sherif in 50th. Concerning times for the 23-year-old as she hopes a return date is sooner rather than later.

Castle, who recently did his final match at Wimbledon as a commentator for the BBC, offered a clear and simple message to Raducanu which involved getting git and healthy once more.

“It's a strange thing with her, isn't it? I mean, when I saw the footage of her serving with that boot on, well, for a start, I thought she was getting a fantastic wrist snap on the serve, because you have to. I thought, blimey me. She's bouncing it over the fence with the serve. That's awesome,” he told Express Sport, speaking on behalf of Betway.

“But look, I mean, it's obviously very sad. I mean, we haven't seen the scans. Of course, we haven't. That's a medical record. We haven't seen anything. And so, we go with what we're told, and I have absolutely no doubt that she must be gutted to not be a part of things."

He advised the British number one to completely wipe the US Open from her mind and focus on the next challenge. “When she has competed this year and other years, I mean, for the most part, she's looked like she's enjoying it. She's got up to sort of regularly 30 or 40 in the world, which tells you how good she is and how good she can be. Forget the US Open.”

When she does return, it could take some time for her to get back in the groove on court with Castle acknowledging match sharpness could be an issue.

"That's a really strong set of results on a consistent basis," he continued. "She beats people. But her body just keeps failing. So, look, I have nothing left to offer apart from sort of sympathy for her. I know everyone's got lots and lots of opinions and everyone likes to sort of have a pop at her every time she gets injured, but she wants to be out there.

“If she makes the decision that she's had enough of all this, then I would understand that as well, because I mean it's very personal to be injured all the time and to not have any continuity. Every time you go out on the court, the scrutiny is there, but also the unknown. If you haven't played a match for eight weeks, 10 weeks, 12 weeks, and it gets to 4-4 in a set and you're not an automatic pilot, you haven't played tons of matches, and it can be tough.”

Raducanu's return date is very much up in the air. She has not been named as part of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals squad making the trip to Shenzhen from September 22 to 27. Whether she makes a comeback at a particular tournament in the Asian swing or focuses on a 2027 return, the objective is still very clear: return fit and healthy to a more consistent patch on court.