Emma Raducanu may find it advantageous to bring her 2024 campaign to an early close, allowing her to focus on full recovery and to secure a protected ranking before she aims to return in 2027, according to former British No. 1 Annabel Croft.
The 23‑year‑old Briton suffered a stress fracture in her right lower leg during the grass‑court swing, a setback that forced her to make a belated decision to withdraw from Wimbledon. After consulting her medical team, Raducanu announced on Monday that she would also be unable to compete at the US Open later this month, a development reported live on Sky Sports. In tennis, a protected ranking is a rule that helps players who have been sidelined by injury to re‑enter the tour without having to start from scratch.
The ATP and WTA operate slightly different systems. On the men’s side, a player can use a protected ranking calculated from the average of his ranking over the three months preceding the injury. On the women’s side, the protected ranking is frozen at the level it was when the injury first occurred, and a player may apply it to up to eight events in a season – twelve if the lay‑off exceeds a year. Raducanu has only just taken tentative steps back onto the court, wearing a protective boot, and this latest blow adds to a frustrating twelve‑month period marked by recurring physical problems.
While speaking on Sky Sports Tennis, Croft – herself a former player turned commentator – remarked, "She’s been unbelievably unlucky with injury problems. There are so many injuries out there but it seems like she never gets a clear run where she’s able to really go for it with her tennis and her body and her mind and everything injury‑free and just keep the momentum going." The sequence of setbacks began with a foot injury that disrupted her pre‑season preparation, followed by a post‑viral illness that kept her off the court for roughly ten weeks after she fell ill in early February.
After a period of rehabilitation, Raducanu returned for the tail end of the clay season, having re‑engaged Andrew Richardson – the coach who guided her to the US Open triumph – but the partnership has had limited on‑court time. In June, she produced one of the most impressive weeks of her career, reaching the final at Queen’s Club – her deepest run since the 2021 US Open victory – only to see that effort precipitate the stress fracture that now threatens her season.
She was also omitted from Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup squad for the September finals, underscoring the severity of her condition. Croft noted, "I’ve seen lots of pictures of her posting with the boot on her leg and just trying to serve, to keep her racket going and showing everybody that she’s doing everything she can. But clearly, it’s not healed up." The former world No. 24 added that Raducanu’s ranking, currently sitting at No.
49, could tumble dramatically if she remains out of competition for an extended period, raising the question of whether a protected ranking might be a viable safety net. Under WTA rules, if a player misses at least six months due to injury, she may invoke a special ranking for a limited number of tournaments upon her return.
In Raducanu’s case, that protected ranking would reflect her position during the grass‑court season – the last time she competed and earned prize money before the injury. The stakes are high because she still has a substantial number of points to defend from last year’s North American hard‑court swing, which included deep runs in Washington, Canada, Cincinnati and the US Open. A prolonged absence could see those points drop off, potentially pushing her out of the top‑50 and affecting entry into Premier events. Croft suggested that ending the season now might be a prudent move.
"It wouldn’t be a surprise if she made that decision [to close down her season]," she said. "That wouldn’t be such a bad decision to take because you can fully heal, rest up, get as much treatment as possible and then come out fully fit, raring to go at the start of next year." She continued, "Maybe if there’s a worry about the ranking drop with so many points to defend and potentially that ranking could plummet, although she might benefit from the protected ranking. All of these factors have to be considered, don’t they?
But at the end of the day, your health is your wealth, as they say, and that is the most important factor and she just needs to get herself fit." Croft also highlighted the unusual nature of Raducanu’s injury. "I’ve had calf muscle injuries, which were not nice at all. The minute you push off, you tweak it and it feels tight, but the one thing that I’ve always thought about Raducanu, particularly when we saw her at Queen’s Club on the grass where she played such beautiful tennis, is that she’s very light on her feet.
Movement has always been one of her strengths." She praised Raducanu’s athleticism, noting that the Brit’s ability to glide around the ball and find balanced positions is a hallmark of her game. "She’s such a great athlete. She moves around the ball. She’s light on her feet and gets into great positions where she never looks off‑balance.
But movement will be part of a major strength of what she brings onto the court. That needs to be absolutely 100 per cent," Croft concluded. In summary, while the prospect of an early season termination may seem drastic, it could provide Raducanu the breathing room she needs to heal completely, protect her ranking via the WTA’s special provision, and return to the sport at full strength in the 2026‑27 timeframe. The decision will hinge on a careful balance between short‑term health considerations and long‑term career strategy.