Emma Raducanu might find it advantageous to call an early end to her 2024 campaign, focusing on a full recovery and preserving a protected ranking ahead of a potential comeback in 2027, former British No.1 Annabel Croft suggested on Sky Sports. The 23‑year‑old British star sustained a stress fracture in the lower part of her right leg during the grass‑court swing, a setback that forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon at the last minute. After consulting her medical team, Raducanu confirmed on Monday that she will also miss the US Open later this month, a decision she announced live on Sky Sports. In professional tennis, a protected ranking system exists to aid players who have been sidelined by injury for an extended period.
The ATP and WTA have slightly different rules. On the men's side, an eligible player can use a protected ranking calculated from the average of his ranking over the three months preceding the injury. For women, the protected ranking is frozen at the level it was when the injury first occurred, and it can be applied to eight tournaments in a season, or up to twelve if the player has been out for more than a year.
This mechanism allows a returning player to enter events without having to start from the bottom of the rankings ladder. Raducanu has only just begun tentative sessions on court, now wearing a protective boot, and this fresh injury adds another painful chapter to a year that has been riddled with physical problems. On Sky Sports Tennis, Croft, who transitioned from playing to television analysis, 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 British player’s troubles began earlier in the season when a foot injury hampered her pre‑season preparation. That was followed by a post‑viral illness that kept her off the court for two and a half months after she fell ill in early February. After a lengthy recovery, she finally returned for the tail end of the clay season, re‑uniting with Andrew Richardson, the coach who guided her to the US Open title in 2021.
Their partnership, however, has been limited by the ongoing health concerns. In June, Raducanu produced one of the best weeks of her career, reaching the final at Queen's Club – her deepest run at the venue since her breakthrough in New York.
Ironically, that very performance appears to have triggered the most recent setback, a stress fracture that forced her out of the grass‑court season and now threatens her participation in the US Open. She was also omitted from Great Britain’s squad for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals scheduled for late September, a clear sign that her fitness issues have impacted selection decisions.
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 immediate question now is whether Raducanu will drop from her current world ranking of 49 and whether she will be able to compete in 2026 without a protected ranking. If a player misses at least six months of competition due to injury, they may apply for a special ranking that can be used for a limited number of events upon return.
In Raducanu’s case, this would likely be based on her top‑50 position from the grass‑court season – the last period in which she earned prize money and ranking points. She also faces the risk of a significant ranking drop because she has a large number of points to defend from last year’s North American hard‑court swing, which included strong performances in Washington, Canada, Cincinnati, and the US Open. Losing those points could see her tumble further down the rankings, making entry into major tournaments more difficult without a protected status.
Croft, a former world No.24, believes that ending the season early might be a sensible 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 added that while the ranking drop is a concern, the protected ranking could mitigate the damage.
"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 commented on the nature of Raducanu’s injury, describing it as unusual. "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’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 out onto the court.
That needs to be absolutely 100 per cent." In summary, Raducanu’s situation underscores the delicate balance between competitive ambition and long‑term health. The protected ranking system offers a safety net, but it does not replace the need for a thorough rehabilitation process. If she chooses to sit out the remainder of the season, she can focus on physiotherapy, strength training, and gradual return‑to‑play protocols, ensuring that when she does step back onto the court, she does so with the confidence and physical readiness required to compete at the highest level. Fans and analysts alike will be watching closely to see how the British star navigates this crossroads.
The decision she makes now could shape the trajectory of her career for years to come, potentially allowing her to return stronger, more resilient, and ready to chase another Grand Slam title.