"It seems like she never gets a clear run where she’s able to really go for it" - Momentum crushed as Emma Raducanu advised to skip rest of 2026 campaign

Emma Raducanu just got back up to speed following a lengthy spell on the sidelines, only to be cruelly prevented from making more progress with another devastating setback which will see her miss the entire North American hardcourt swing, including most notably the US Open. Former British professional Annabel Croft suggested that she could skip the rest of the action in 2026 while stunned by her bad luck when it comes to injuries.

The former champion at Flushing Meadows had climbed back into the top 30 following a terrific run to the Queen's final, losing to Donna Vekic. Her other plans on grass were cancelled, including Wimbledon, as she was seen with a protective boot on her right foot.

She has suffered with a stress fracture on her right leg, with a statement from her team confirming that it is damaging enough to keep her out of action for the foreseeable future. “After latest consultation with her team, Emma will have to miss the US Open. While she is working hard to rehab her stress fracture, given the nature of the injury, it needs time to heal. She is sad to be missing a tournament that is so special to her.”

Speaking on Sky Sports Tennis, Croft highlighted how unlucky she had been with injuries in her time as a pro. “It feels as if she’s been unbelievably unlucky with the injury problems she’s faced throughout the course of her career," she said. "Don’t forget she’s had wrist surgery, feet problems, and now this stress fracture. And, you know there are so many injuries out there on the Tour, it seems like she never gets a clear run where she’s able to really go for it with her tennis, and her body, and her mind injury free."

She went on to note how bad of a time it was to get this stress fracture, cutting out any possible momentum she could have got. "Just keep the momentum going because we’re all so excited with what she did at Queen’s Club, where she reached the final there just ahead of Wimbledon, where everyone is going ‘Wow’.

“She really ignited her tennis again and thing were really starting to look up, but this is just a major setback. It’s a tournament that is so special to her, that’s where she’s had her greatest success, a former US Open champion, and I’ve seen lots of pictures of her posting the boot on her leg, trying to serve still, keeping her racket going."

Depending on the severity of the injury, Croft admitted that Raducanu could even end her season prematurely. “Showing everybody that she’s doing everything she can, but clearly it’s not healed up and you need to be fully fit to play these tournaments. It wouldn’t be a surprise if she made that decision [to end her season now] and probably that wouldn’t be such a bad decision to take because you can fully heal, rest up, get as much treatment as possible, and then come out fully fit and raring to go at the start of next year.

“But the business side of tennis, I’m sure there’s a lot of enticing things coming her way down in Asia where she will want to play her best tennis there and she’ll be very much in demand.”

There are risks with this. She would lose out on not only the chance of gaining more points, but she will almost certainly lose many with a ranking drop imminent. It could be a risk worth taking. “Who knows, maybe if there’s a worry about the ranking drop with so many points to defend, potentially that ranking could plummet. Although, she might benefit from the protected ranking," Croft continued.

“These factors have to be considered, but at the end of the day, your health is your wealth and that’s the most important factor. The problem for all of these players facing injury problems, and we see it for all those years with Juan Martin del Potro, everyone’s so worried about Alcaraz because it’s similar."

With the WTA Tour so demanding with more and more matches and tournaments cropping up, it is harder for players to keep their fitness levels right as injuries become more prominent. “Every time you go out there to practice, and I think Jack Draper’s alluded to this, you don’t know how much to push yourself because an injury that has been a problem, needs to be loaded up in training to see how far you can load it up before playing professional tennis matches.

“As we know on the Tour it’s so demanding what is required from all of these players and it’s relentless. If you get through one match, there’s one that’s coming a day later. Injuries can get into a players head mentally as much as anything, so psychologically you’re thinking ‘Can I play? Can I push up on my leg? Can I push off to serve?’ How much do all these factors come in emotionally. It’s very difficult, very tough.”

The 60-year-old touched on the injury and the risks this particular one comes with. "It’s quite an unusual injury actually. I’ve had calf muscle injuries, which were not nice at all and the minute you push off, you tweak it, but a shin," she stated.

“And stress fractures are always dangerous. Whatever you do, you do not want to weaken it anymore and cause anymore problems, so it doesn’t become a long-term injury. But you don’t hear too many stress fractures in the shin actually. It seems quite an unusual injury."

One of her strong points, noted by Croft, is her movement, expertly produced in Queen's as well as other tournaments in her time. “One thing that I’ve always thought about Raducanu, particularly when we saw her at Queen’s on the grass, where she played such beautiful tennis. She’s very light on her feet. Movement for her has always been one of her strengths. She’s such a great athlete, she moves around the ball. She’s light on her feet and gets into great positions, where she never looks off balance. Movement will be part of a major strength on what she brings out on the court. That needs to be at 100%.”