Raducanu ruled out of US Open
Emma Raducanu will miss this month’s US Open after a stress fracture in her right leg forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon during the grass-court season. Following consultation with her medical team, the 23-year-old has concluded that she will not be fit to compete in New York. The decision had been widely expected given the nature of the injury and her limited return to court activity. Raducanu has only recently begun taking tentative steps back on court while wearing a protective boot.
The absence represents another setback for the British player, whose recent progress has repeatedly been interrupted by physical problems. Raducanu had shown encouraging form at Flushing Meadows last summer, winning matches there for the first time since her remarkable 2021 title run. However, the past 12 months have been marked by fitness concerns and lengthy periods away from competition. Missing the final Grand Slam of the season will also affect her ranking, with Raducanu set to slide from her current position of 49.
A frustrating year of injury issues
Raducanu’s preparations for the 2026 campaign were severely affected by a foot injury that limited her pre-season training. She then spent around two-and-a-half months off court with a post-viral illness after first becoming unwell in early February. Her eventual return came late in the clay-court season, when she reunited with Andrew Richardson. Richardson coached Raducanu during her historic US Open triumph and had been brought back in an effort to support her latest comeback.
The partnership’s time on court has been restricted by the latest injury problems, despite a promising spell in June. Raducanu reached the final at Queen’s Club, her biggest final since winning in New York five years earlier. That tournament was one of the strongest weeks of her career, but the effort is understood to have triggered the stress fracture that ended her grass-court campaign. The setback subsequently forced her to pull out of Wimbledon and has now ruled her out of the US Open.
Questions over the rest of the season
Raducanu was not included in Great Britain’s team for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in September. With her recovery still in its early stages, there are also questions over whether she will return to competitive action again in 2026. Any timetable will depend on how her leg responds to rehabilitation and the advice of her medical team. For now, the focus is expected to remain on recovery rather than setting a date for her next tournament.
Despite the disappointment, Raducanu offered an upbeat update from Switzerland on Sunday. Posting on Instagram during a break, she described the trip as the “best reset ever”. The message suggested she is attempting to maintain a positive outlook during another difficult spell. Her supporters will hope the time away allows her to recover fully and return without further interruption.