The uncertainty around Emma Raducanu has been growing in recent weeks, with the British No 1 living through a troubled start to 2026.
After being forced to pull out of events at the back end of last year due to injuries and illness, that pattern has continued into this season.
Raducanu was less than fully fit in some of her early events and when she reached her first regular WTA Tour final in Cluj, she was well beaten in the final in a 6-0, 6-2 defeat against Sorana Cirstea.
Since that match in early February, Raducanu has played one match against Camila Osorio in Qatar, which she failed to finish.
Then she lost in the opening round in Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships against Antonia Ruzic, when she was struggling once more with physical issues.
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One win at the Indian Wells Open was back up by a crushing defeat against Amanda Anisimova, with her absence from the Miami Open later in March due to what was described as an ongoing virus problem.
Raducanu’s plans to return this week were abandoned when she pulled out of the Linz tournament with ongoing physical issues, with the mystery around the reason for her persistent ill health the subject of intense speculation.
Now there are suggestions that Raducanu is eyeing up a return to action at the WTA 1000 event in Madrid that gets underway on April 22.
There has been limited information on Raducanu’s condition and if she doesn’t return in Madrid, there will be big question marks over whether she will return for next month’s French Open at Roland Garros.
“They said in Cluj that she had a chest infection and I was working on the next two tournaments when she retired and then lost in the Middle East,” Sky Sports presenter Gigi Salmon told Tennis365, as she questioned what the issue was for Raducanu.
“I was wondering if it was the hangover from the chest infection. You are probably told not to play and to rest, but you want to play and try and put it behind you and chase the ranking points.
“Is there an element of stress in there for Emma? I’ve asked a few ex-players to try and get my head around what it is. If it continues to happen, I will fall one way than the other.”
Former British No 1 Tim Henman also gave his verdict on Raducanu, as he told Tennis365 that her physical conditioning is the big factor that can take the 2021 US Open champion back to the top.
“She’s 23, you know, and there’s plenty of 18, 19, 20-year-olds now on the tour, who are overtaking her,” added Henman. “You can’t stand still, but she’s still a very good player.
“It’s just my belief, and I think a lot of other people’s belief that she could be a lot better. And that’s an exciting, that’s an exciting thing. There’s no doubt that the scrutiny is a lot more for Emma than others, but she is used to that now.
“She’s 25 in the world, but a lot of us believe she can be a lot better. It will be exciting to see whether she can make that step now.
“It has been too stop-start. Whether it is a change of coach or a physical setback. She has to become physically more resilient to be faster and stronger to compete with the biggest hitters.
“I think Raducanu needs to be physically stronger. She needs more physical resilience so she doesn’t get the little injuries that put her away from the court. They stop her building the momentum on the match court.
“You can still do a lot of physical work on the court, whether it’s two on one when you’re hitting and moving and building up that physical resilience to get stronger, to get faster, to hit the ball harder, to serve bigger. If I could pinpoint one area, it would most definitely be fitness.”
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