“I hope to play less than I did this year”: Emma Raducanu prioritises longevity after injury-free breakthrough

Emma Raducanu has announced changes to her personal calendar looking ahead to the 2026 season, in which she assured that she hopes to play fewer tournaments to safeguard her physical form. The former US Open champion hopes to remain healthy and injury-free, after finally having returned to the top 30 and taking a seeded position at the upcoming Australian Open.

And the fact is that it has taken the British No. 1 a long time to rediscover her physical form, and since her first Grand Slam title, she has had a complicated time maintaining competitive rhythm. During 2025 she participated in the 10 WTA 1000s of the year – something she achieved for the first time in her career: entering only 11 main draws across the last three seasons.

For Raducanu it was a season with great results, entering for the first time the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 – achieved at the Miami Open – and reaching a record of 28-22 for the year: with more triumphs than ever for a single year and a total of 50 matches – well above the 36 of 2022 and 2024 (without considering 2023 in which surgery allowed her to barely dispute 5 tournaments in the year).

“I would say next year I hope to play less than I did this year,” commented Raducanu in a recent interview with the BBC. “But I think also just incorporating into my warm ups fitness, so it’s not just my fitness sessions which 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.”

The former world No. 10 seems to have found calm in her current work team, with Francisco Roig at the helm—former coach of Rafael Nadal—with whom she worked during the second part of 2025 and who will remain as Raducanu's coach next year. “I think that’s the most special thing. It takes so much work and so many days to get to where we want to be. Just enjoying each day and being able to look at it in a pretty healthy perspective is so important.”

Raducanu has concentrated her pre-season work in London and for the first time in several years will be able to spend Christmas at home. The Londoner in previous years traveled before Christmas to the Australian swing, preparing in advance for the start of the season. “It’s the first Christmas I will be in the UK since Covid, so that is exciting for me, because the calendar starts a week later, which I’m very grateful for,” she said. “That means I will be able to be with my family for the first time in a while, so that’s really special. Of course, the tour is incredibly demanding, and once we are off, we are off for a long time.”

The 22-year-old player highlighted that she feels satisfied with the achievements of the 2025 season, in which although she did not manage to get close again to a big title, she found consistency to advance rounds consistently throughout the year. Raducanu had as her best result her campaign to the semifinals of the WTA 500 DC Open, where she ended up falling to Anna Kalinskaya. It was the first time Raducanu reached the semifinal of a WTA level tournament since she achieved the US Open title.

“I feel quite content with how things are going on and off the court. I am in a pretty good place,” commented the world No 28. “I just think despite any challenges I have been facing with the foot or the health at the end of the season, I feel in a good place, and I’m building back in the gym, to start with."

Raducanu announced that she is ready to take the next step in the coming season. She will start the year playing the United Cup together with Jack Draper, and then will travel to the WTA 250 Hobart as second seed, and will follow a draw with Elise Mertens, Iva Jovic, Eva Lys, among others. “I am feeling pretty relaxed ahead of next year, which is a good place to be. I am just proud of the season that I have put in this year and the progress I have made.”