Emma Raducanu suffers injury setback forcing her to pull out of exhibition matches

Emma Raducanu has cancelled any upcoming plans of featuring in some exhibition matches. This is due to the physical challenges which plagued the end of her 2025 campaign in Asia, halting her steady progress back into the top 32.

She was due to face the world number four Amanda Anisimova twice in the USA. The first one coming in Newark at A Racquet at The Rock on Sunday, 7th December and the Miami Invitational the next day. Jessica Pegula will step in to take the British number one's place.

The reason for her not participating in the States is due to light bruising on her right foot. While it is a setback, the injury does not look too serious and will not impact Raducanu's preparations for the start of 2026. The 23-year-old is set to travel to Barcelona with coach Francisco Roig to make sure she is in the best condition for what is expected to be another season of progression.

Raducanu came into the Asian swing full of confidence after she had found her form once more. She had seemed to shake off the persistent injury troubles she was struggling with and was experiencing a solid string of time on the court. The highlight was a semi-final in Washington, losing out in straight sets to Anna Kalinskaya. The Canadian Open, Cincinnati Open and US Open all culminated in exits to top 10 players, a regular theme in her 2025 season.

It looked like her and Roig had found a good partnership with her getting back to the impressive heights she once stood. Formerly as high as world number 10 back in 2022, she was targeting to be in the top 32 once again, with the benefit of being a seed at major events. She missed out on that by a very small margin at Flushing Meadows, but her efforts in the Asian swing have pushed her up to 29th. Raducanu is now very likely to be a seed for the upcoming Australian Open.

However, it could have been higher if she managed to get a few more positive results in the last couple of months of the season. She failed to take two match points against Barbora Krejcikova in the Korea Open before squandering three against Pegula in the China Open. Both times she was punished with early exits in the duo of events a major blow. Nevertheless, she kept going, traversing to Wuhan for the second consecutive WTA 1000 event. It would not go to plan with the conditions getting one over her. The hot and humid Chinese climate forced her to retire against Ann Li ahead of a shock first-round exit in the Ningbo Open to wildcard Lin Zhu.

She has not stepped onto the court since. It is now all focus on 2026. She will start by competing in the United Cup, representing her country for the first time Down Under with fellow British star Jack Draper, who is set to make a highly anticipated return to tennis. After that, the Australian Open will be the centre of every tennis player's attention. She is set to be seeded for a Grand Slam event in a major coup for the Brit. It means that she can wait a round later before the possibility of matching up against one of the big stars in the sport. This was largely her undoing last season in major events. Defeats to Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina prevented her from going any further. If she is to win the biggest awards once more, then she must beat the best.