Emma Raducanu has a glorious chance to jump back into the top 20 of the WTA Rankings in the opening few weeks of 2026, but the British No 1 needs to make a fast start to maintain the progress she made in this season.
Raducanu won a couple of matches at last year’s Australian Open and she will need to repeat that achievement to retain her place in the top 30 of the rankings.
After that, she will have a chance to make progress, as she suffered three successive first round losses after her run in Melbourne last year, before losing in the second round of the WTA 1000 event in Dubai and the opening round at Indian Wells.
Raducanu will believe she can improve on that poor record in 2026, but she will need to add some points to her tally before she gets to the Miami Open in March, where she will be defending 215 ranking points from her impressive run to last year’s quarter-finals.
A return to the top 20 of the rankings would be welcome for a player who has struggled when facing some of the biggest hitters in the sport, with former British No 1 Greg Rusedski telling Tennis365 that Raducanu should be aiming high.
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“I know this has been said before, but you need consistency in your coach and where you are going. She didn’t have that,” Rudedski told Tennis365 ahead of the launch of his Off Court with Greg podcast on Monday.
“The reason she is back in the top 30 now is that she has had some consistency with her coaches in recent months, starting with Mark Petchey coming into her team back in March and then with Francisco Roig coming on board, who has worked with Rafael Nadal. She needs that consistency with her coaching now.
“She has got back to where she is in the rankings and has not played a full schedule. So I’d expect her to get back into the top 20 next year and the challenge then is to go beyond that and win titles.
“Tennis players tend to be on a journey. They start by winning smaller events, work their way up the rankings and then they challenge for Grand Slams when they reach the top level.
“Raducanu now has to win tournaments. She needs to get to finals. She hasn’t done that yet and she needs to start building by winning the lesser events on the main tour.”
Winning titles would put a different gloss on the career of the 2021 US Open champion and it would also boost a ranking that has risen from No 56 at the end of 24.
If she stays fit and maintains a stable coaching set-up, there is no reason why Raducanu cannot finish 2026 back in the top 20 of the WTA Rankings heading into a season that could well define whether the 23-year-old has what it takes to compete at the top consistently.
The post Emma Raducanu rankings prediction for 2026 and why she needs a fast start to the season appeared first on Tennis365.
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