"Needs to be absolutely 100 per cent": Emma Raducanu's injury could be problematic to come back from for this reason
WTA
Emma Raducanu appears to not be playing for the rest of the 2026 season despite being spotted at the LTA National Tennis Centre in recent weeks with the Brit seemingly set to come out and head towards the Australian Open.
That is seen as not a bad thing by Annabel Croft who spoke about Emma Raducanu perhaps finding the best out of the situation in not being able to come back. But she also sees why perhaps she might try her best to due to ranking and the fact she has slid down now again as a result of not playing since 14 June.
Back then she lost to Donna Vekic in the final of Queen's in one of the landmark matches that saw people think is Raducanu back. But a week or so later, she suffered a stress fracture on her right leg and was back to square one.
"It wouldn’t be a surprise if she made that decision. 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, raring to go at the start of next year," said Croft about Raducanu.
Raducanu is likely to return in Australia.
“Maybe if there’s a worry about the ranking drop with so many points to defend and potentially that ranking could plummet, although she might benefit from the protected ranking.
“All of these factors have to be considered, don’t they? But at the end of the day, your health is your wealth, as they say, and that is the most important factor and she just needs to get herself fit.”
Having suffered the same injury as Raducanu in the past, she also said that it might be a difficult one to recover from.
Raducanu needs time to recover
Raducanu will be able to use her protected ranking for a maximum of eight events. She was in the top 35 so will help her into Grand Slams and the early season. Croft admits that movement was key to the Raducanu game so perhaps will be one that takes time.
She hopes that she will find time to be fully recovered instead of rushing straight back into it all guns blazing.
“It’s an unusual injury. I mean, I’ve had calf muscle injuries, which were not nice at all. And the minute you push off, you tweak it and it feels tight but the one thing that I’ve always thought about Raducanu, particularly when we saw her at Queen’s Club on the grass where she played such beautiful tennis, is that she’s very light on her feet. Movement has always been one of her strengths.
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“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. But movement will be part of a major strength of what she brings out onto the court. That needs to be absolutely 100 per cent.”
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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