Rating Raducanu's season - and what does future hold?

Emma Raducanu completed a half-century of matches successful a play for nan first clip successful her career.

They included a semi-final showing successful Washington, positive a quarter-final successful Miami and a last-16 quality connected nan Rome clay astatine WTA 1000 level.

There were besides chastening defeats by nan world's elite connected nan Grand Slam shape and a frustrating conclusion successful Asia pinch illness, a bad backmost and missed lucifer points.

But nan British number one's determination to curtail her play 2 weeks early, and miss events successful Tokyo and Hong Kong because of lingering sickness, is simply a sound one.

Raducanu has contested 22 tournaments this year, and was besides successful Auckland and group to play connected New Year's Eve earlier withdrawing because of her back. That is much than enough.

She now has 11 weeks to recover, remainder and train for nan 2026 season.

Raducanu will not request to interest astir a coach successful that period, arsenic she and Francisco Roig - who was portion of Rafael Nadal's squad for his 22 Grand Slam titles - person agreed to proceed a business which began successful August.

Physically, nan 22-year-old has proved a batch much robust - moreover if her backmost is becoming a acquainted foe.

It costs her captious mentation clip past December and was a regular irritation connected nan clay and writer earlier stopping her successful her tracks at nan Ningbo Open this week.

"Structurally I'm much prone and susceptible to picking up things for illustration this," Raducanu said of her backmost successful May.

There were galore periods this summertime erstwhile she looked a top-20 player. Her service has go a much potent weapon, pinch nan longer mobility offering nan imaginable for greater powerfulness and precision.

Raducanu believes it is besides now much reliable successful tight moments, and she was mostly very adept astatine redeeming break points this season.

Of Raducanu's 22 defeats, only 7 came against lower-ranked opponents, pinch 3 successful nan past period alone.

But beating nan very best, who often person greater power, has proved beyond her truthful far.

She mislaid 10 of her 11 matches against top-10 players successful 2025, nan objection being a victory complete Emma Navarro successful Miami successful March.

She was very competitive against world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka connected Wimbledon's Centre Court - and took her to a 3rd group tie-break successful Cincinnati - but location was small room for encouragement elsewhere.

After a 6-1 6-2 nonaccomplishment to ninth seed Elena Rybakina astatine nan US Open, Raducanu reflected connected wherever she needs to amended to alteration nan narrative.

"My service - it's been better, but I deliberation it tin get amended [still]," she told BBC Sport.

"The shot aft nan service arsenic well, truthful I'm fresh for a accelerated return. I deliberation that's wherever I still person immoderate large activity to do.

"I deliberation starting nan constituent is highly important erstwhile you are playing astatine that benignant of level."

Raducanu developed an unfortunate wont successful Asia of failing to person lucifer points.

Last year's Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova saved 3 against her successful Seoul, and past world number 5 Jessica Pegula did precisely nan aforesaid successful Beijing a week later.

More concerning, though, was nan measurement Raducanu faded successful nan deciding group of those matches. Against Pegula, Raducanu went for broke and subsided quickly.

This was not thing you could person accused her of complete nan summer, and was possibly a motion of a assemblage and mind wearied by 9 months connected nan road.

Raducanu and Roig are readying a pre-season training artifact astatine nan extremity of nan year, and 2026 could statesman pinch nan United Cup squad title successful Sydney and Perth.

As Raducanu is now each but definite to decorativeness nan twelvemonth arsenic British number one, she and Jack Draper will beryllium GB's squad if they return up nan opportunity to play successful nan tournament.

Ranking points will beryllium connected connection and could yet beryllium important arsenic Raducanu, nan existent world number 29, tries to compression among nan 32 seeds for nan Australian Open later that month.

As good arsenic helping her study really to conjugate Spanish verbs successful nan backmost of nan car connected nan measurement to work, Raducanu has credited Roig pinch a "confident and calm beingness that rubs disconnected erstwhile I americium connected court".

Time to activity done changes connected nan believe tribunal has been constricted truthful acold because of nan sport's frenetic schedule.

But location is now clip to make immoderate improvements and recharge earlier adjacent play begins.