Emma Raducanu’s fitness has come under scrutiny once again. The British No. 1 is set to miss two major tournaments, adding fresh doubt about her participation in the US Open next month.

After withdrawing from her home, Grand Slam just a few hours before her first-round match, she is slated to miss WTA 1000 tournaments in the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open, which are important in the lead-up to the final Grand Slam of the year.

Raducanu was playing some of the best tennis of the season heading into Wimbledon, having reached the final at Queen’s Club two weeks ago. She was supposed to play the Nottingham Open and the Eastbourne Open, but skipped both events due to a niggle. That caution did not prove fruitful, as what was initially assumed to be a niggle turned out to be far more serious. The night before her opening match, a final scan identified a stress fracture, resulting in her being ruled out just before facing Antonia Ruzic. 

“I’ve done everything possible to try to get to the start line tomorrow but after a final scan tonight, the niggle I’ve been managing has developed into a stress fracture and I’ve been medically advised to stop pushing through,” Raducanu said in a statement at the time. 

“Playing at Wimbledon, in front of a home crowd, means everything to me, so this is really difficult to process. I want to thank you all for your support and encouragement.”

Later, it was confirmed that it was a grade-four stress fracture in the right shin, the most severe classification of the injury. The damage had progressed from a stress reaction to a visible fracture line on her MRI scan. The Brit was seen on crutches in the days that followed and, according to reports, remained on them for more than a week after her withdrawal. 

Recovery from an injury like this can easily take six to twelve weeks, which puts her participation in doubt not just for the Washington Open, where she reached the semi-finals last year, but even for the US Open as well, which begins on August 30.

The 2021 US Open champion picked up 325 ranking points last year across her runs in Washington, Toronto, and Cincinnati, all of which are now set to fall off her ranking with nothing to replace them. This will result in her dropping outside the world’s top 60. If she decides to withdraw from the US Open, where she reached the third round last year, the slide down the rankings would only continue. 

She has not made any new public update about her recovery since her Wimbledon statement, and there is speculation now about whether she will be fit enough to continue on the journey to New York. 

A career once again interrupted by injury

This is the latest setback in a disappointing series of injuries that have plagued Raducanu’s career since her US Open title in 2021. She had surgery on both wrists and an ankle in May 2023 and has only been able to play a handful of games since. In 2026 alone, she had a respiratory illness that restricted her playing time before this injury struck.

She had just played 17 matches before her run to the Queen’s Club final, where she lost to Donna Vekic in straight sets. That series of three contests in 28 hours during the final weekend of the tournament has raised the question of whether that intense workload was a factor in this injury’s onset. 

Emma Raducanu is not the only member of the British women’s team currently sidelined by a stress-related injury, either. Britain’s third-ranked player, Sonay Kartal, was diagnosed with a spinal stress fracture in March, at a stage when her own form seemed to be at its best. She had defeated two top- 30 players in a row at Indian Wells before retiring mid-match against Elena Rybakina. 

With both of the country’s leading women undergoing a lengthy rehabilitation, concerns persist over who will be the British flag-bearer at the US Open. On the Men’s side, former world No.4 Jack Draper is also dealing with a long-term, chronic bone bruising injury in his left arm. For Raducanu, with just 21 matches under the belt this season, the next month will determine whether her season sees a breakthrough or whether 2026 is yet another year defined by time spent off court.