Emma Raducanu faces a pivotal year in her career.
No longer a novice or a flash in the pan, and with the five-year anniversary of her US Open triumph on the horizon, it’s now all on her to prove she can return to the top of the game as she so sensationally did in 2021.
She told reporters she is determined next year to find “the best Emma Raducanu”, both on and off the tennis court: that starts with a new-look hairstyle, cut shorter by Belgravia stylist Nicola Noviello, and a pre-season training camp in Barcelona with her Catalan coach Francis Roig.
www.instagram.com/p/DRhjkF4DHo1/?hl=en&img_index=1Overcome fitness and injury issues
Raducanu’s 2025 tour campaign ended early after she got ill in Asia and had to miss her last two events of the season, before then cancelling proposed exhibition matches later this month due to minor bone bruising in her foot. She had already spent much of the year battling persistent back and hip problems.
She has now hired Emma Stewart, a former WTA physiotherapist who then went to work with the Team GB Olympic rowing team, to cover her physio and her strength and conditioning coach over the coming season.
“I did some work with her in Madrid in 2022 and I always remembered she really helped me with my back at the time,” Raducanu says.
“In rowing, you see a lot of hips and backs […] she knows how to treat it, it’s very helpful. Certain flare ups that I’ve had, she’s helped me with.”
With Stewart covering two roles, there may still be room for a specialist S&C coach, but for now Raducanu is happy to have someone with acute knowledge of her particular issues covering both areas.
Beat top-10 players
There is a statistical reality to Raducanu’s record that remains a glaring hole in her game: the Brit has a 15 per cent win rate against top 10 players, and in 2025 won only one of her 11 meetings with players ranked in that top echelon.
Even expanding that statistic to top 20, she is still only 25 per cent in her career and 21 per cent last year, failing to win one of those encounters in the entire second half of the season.
Take on the biggest hitters
The 2021 US Open says she has a plan to turn around her head-to-head record against the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek, whom she has played a combined total of 10 times without beating any of them – and coach Roig has a strong idea of how to execute it.
“I’ve always been more tactical, more just having to exploit their weaknesses if they have any, and trying to be very crafty,” Raducanu adds.
“I don’t necessarily have something that can just blow someone off the court like that. So I do have to use my skill, use my brain a little bit more.
“But I also think that with Francis, he’s trying to build a better quality, not necessarily by changing my physiological capacities, just by using better technique, using better timing and using better movement.”
Her pre-season block in Barcelona with Roig, who is helping her learn Spanish, will cement some of those concepts.
Raducanu’s 2025 grand slam exits
Australian Open, third round: 6-1, 6-0 vs Iga Swiatek (No 2 seed) French Open, second round: 6-1, 6-2 vs Iga Swiatek (5) Wimbledon, third round: 7-6, 6-4 vs Aryna Sabalenka (1) US Open, third round: 6-1, 6-2 vs Elena Rybakina (9)Go deep in majors
Defeat in the third round was the best Raducanu managed at any slam this year, but her best chance to go further was at Wimbledon, when she had set points against Sabalenka that would have changed the course of the match.
“When you play number one, they’re number one for a reason, so they can come up with an unbelievable drop shot on set point,” Raducanu says.
“But pushing Aryna to those lengths, it did give me confidence.”
“More than half the battle, when you’re playing someone like that, […] is the belief and just playing the ball, not necessarily playing her.”
She adds later: “You want to win Wimbledon, that’s the goal for everyone. But other than that, I think I am pretty realistic.”
Consistent coaching
Hiring Roig over the summer, and then extending his contract to cover the 2026 season, was an upgrade on Mark Petchey, who was having to split his time between broadcast commitments with the Tennis Channel and coaching Raducanu.
Roig has a wealth of tour experience to draw on, including time spent coaching all-time great Rafael Nadal.
“I don’t necessarily ask him about Rafa as much,” Raducanu says.
“But of course, it is inspiring whenever I do hear stories about him. Just to think that he worked with him at such a close proximity for so many years is really inspiring.”
British No 1 status
It might not be top of her to-do list, but retaining British No 1 status would be an indicator of Raducanu’s form and give her greater flexibility in her schedule.
She will play United Cup in January, where as No 1 player she is guaranteed match time if she wants it; previously, she has skipped it because it would have involved spending most of her time on the bench.
And she will get the chance to lead her country in the Billie Jean King Cup, an event she has seemed to enjoy when fitness and scheduling has allowed her to participate.
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