A leading athlete welfare and injury prevention expert has told Tennis365 why he expects the 2026 Australian Open to be “very, very challenging” for Emma Raducanu.
Stephen Smith, the founder and CEO of Kitman Labs — the world’s leading sports science and performance intelligence company — has said Raducanu is in a “really unenviable position” due to her injury-affected preparations for the campaign.
Raducanu cut short her 2025 season in mid-October having struggled with physical issues at events in Wuhan and Ningbo, and she pulled out of exhibition matches in the United States in December due to “light bone bruising” in her right foot.
At the 2026 United Cup, Raducanu withdrew ahead of what was set to be her first match of the year against Naomi Osaka.
The 23-year-old Brit fell in three sets to Maria Sakkari on her return to the match court on 5 January, after which she revealed the extent to which the foot problem had restricted her ability to practise.
“I started hitting two weeks ago, so it’s been a good two and a bit months where I didn’t play,” the world No 29 said.
What did Stephen Smith say about Emma Raducanu?
In an exclusive interview, Tennis365 asked Smith about the impact of players, like Raducanu, competing at the start of a new season after having their pre-season disrupted by injury.
“I think you ask too much, you put too much stress and too much toll on your body when you don’t have that foundational base that you need,” Smith explained.
“You don’t have the conditioning base, you don’t have the neurological strength base. And potentially don’t have the cardiovascular base either.
“I think that’s when you see small injuries like this pop up, and it can have a pretty big impact, a meaningful impact on the entire season for someone.
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“Emma Raducanu, the bone bruising issue that she’s been dealing with, the risk with something like that, it would seem that potentially her pre-season has been hampered by that.
“And if she has to overload that, or has to put too much stress and strain on a bone bruise like that, the risk for that is like a stress fracture. And then we’re talking like eight to 12 weeks of time lost because of something like that.
“So, I think that’s a real precarious position that she’s in, because she has to get the balance right of, how much is too much that she turns this bone bruising into a stress fracture? And how much is enough to be able to get a base to be able to play your season?
“And that’s a really, really unenviable position that she’s in. But going to a tournament like the Australian Open when you’ve had your entire pre-season hampered by something like that, I think will be very, very challenging.”
Who will Emma Raducanu play at the Australian Open?
Raducanu will face 195th-ranked Thai player Mananchaya Sawangkaew in her opening match at the Australian Open.
After her United Cup campaign, Raducanu competed at the Hobart International this week, where she defeated Camila Osorio in the first round before receiving a second round walkover from Magdalena Frech.
In the quarter-finals at the WTA 250 tournament, Raducanu — who was the top seed — suffered a surprise 2-6, 4-6 loss to world No 204 Taylah Preston.
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