Emma Raducanu’s big problem exposed again – but this is not a moment to hit the panic button
If Emma Raducanu is to achieve her goals over the course of her tennis career, a solution to her one recurring problem has to be found.
Her 2021 US Open is always likely to be the defining moment of her career, but there is still time for her to achieve so much more if she can find a way to stay on court for long enough to reach those goals.
The four and a half years since that win in New York have been laced with troubles, as she took time to adjust to life on the WTA Tour and then struggled to avoid illness and injury issues that continue to plague her now.
Top seed Raducanu appeared to be feeling the effects of her marathon semi-final win against Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova on Friday when she lost 6-0, 6-2 against Sorana Cirstea in her first final since that US Open win on Saturday.
She was beaten in little over an hour in Cluj and was clearly struggling with some kind of physical issue as she had her blood pressure checked by medics at the start of the second set.
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“It was obviously really tough,” she said after the match. “I think Sorana played a great match for sure, and I’ve kind of… yeah, just been kind of dealing with some health… just not feeling great this week and then [Friday] was obviously a battle.
“I felt quite tired today and just need to try and rest as best as possible.
“But, I mean, I couldn’t do anything either against Sorana today. You know, she was playing incredible, and she has been all week, and I can’t sing her praises enough about how good she’s been, how nice of a person she is, and it’s just great to have someone like her around on the tour.”
It remains to be seen whether Raducanu will now need to take another break from the game after she was off court for two months at the back end of 2025, with her physical issues as big a concern as her game as she looks to kick on to the next level.
Her run to the final in Cluj fired her up to No 25 in the WTA Rankings, but it will be hard for Raducanu to get much higher unless she can play back-to-back matches over a succession of days, which is what is required to reach the back end of tournaments.
Over the last four years, Raducanu has struggled to string wins together and on the rare occasions she has managed to get near the end of a tournament, there has generally been a physical issue holding her back.
Raducanu will need to play matches consistently to build up the physical reserves she will need to realise here potential and the contrast in Raducanu’s performance and the victory for her compatriot Katie Boulter in a WTA Tour event in Ostrava on Saturday was stark.
Boulter is coming back from injury issues herself, but she looked fit and ready to fight for more as she beat Tamara Korpatsch to win the title in Ostava.
Now Raducanu needs to add that tough streak into her make-up because without it, her ambitions will continue to be halted.
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Raducanu’s decision to part company with respected coach Fransisco Roig after last month’s Australian Open – as her tenth coach came and went in double quick time – was a move that sparked fresh doubts over whether the 23-year-old will ever find a coach who can be a stable presence in her camp, but her performances in Cluj over the last week highlight that she can win matches against lower ranked opponents with an all-out attacking gamelan.
Recent history suggests that approach may not be so successful against the biggest hitters in women’s tennis, but Raducanu has shown she has a desire to build momentum in 2026 as he looks towards a European summer that will offer her a chance to claim some rewards on clay and grass courts.
When the expectations are as high as they have always been around Raducanu, anything less than top level titles and a lofty ranking is considered a disappointment in the eyes of many, but a career in the top 20 and a handful of WTA Tour titles would still represent a fine career for a player who will always be a Grand Slam champion.
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