Emma Raducanu’s career takes a tough turn as more tournament withdrawals put her in a tricky spot
Emma Raducanu has had to pull out of two more tournaments after her recent withdrawal from Wimbledon, and this could affect her WTA ranking. The 2021 US Open champion has had a tough 2026 with several injuries, including a stress fracture in her lower right leg. This injury forced her to leave Wimbledon just before it started, even though she had a great run to the final at Queen’s Club in June.
Earlier this year, Emma reached the second round of the Australian Open but lost to Austria’s Anastasia Potapova. She then battled a viral illness that kept her out of the Linz Open and also caused her to skip the Miami Open in March. Emma did play at the French Open but was knocked out in the first round by Argentina’s Solana Sierra.
It’s now been confirmed that Emma won’t be playing in the opening hard-court tournaments: she’s skipping both the Canadian Open, which starts on August 1, and the Cincinnati Open two weeks later. Because of this, she might lose about 325 WTA ranking points, as she did well in those North American events last year by reaching the third round in both.
Currently ranked 38th as of July 16, Emma could drop outside the top 60, which might mean losing her spot as Britain’s No. 1 player to Katie Boulter, who is ranked 66th. Dropping out of the top 60 could also make the US Open more challenging for Emma, as seeded players get a better draw. If she can’t make it to the US Open, she risks losing another 130 points since she reached the third round there last year before losing to Elena Rybakina.
That would be a tough situation, and it might even mean starting 2027 outside the WTA top 100. On top of that, Emma is not on the list for the Washington Open, where she made the semi-finals in 2025. The US Open is set to begin on August 23, and we all hope Emma can recover and get back on court soon!