{"id":2101368,"date":"2026-08-19T20:14:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T17:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2101368"},"modified":"2026-08-19T20:14:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T17:14:35","slug":"emma-raducanus-injury-is-worst-case-scenario-as-leading-expert-reveals-recovery-timeframe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2101368","title":{"rendered":"Emma Raducanu&#8217;s injury is &#8216;worst case scenario&#8217; as leading expert reveals recovery timeframe"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Emma Raducanu\u2019s injury is \u2018worst case scenario\u2019 as leading expert reveals recovery timeframe<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/ewan-west\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Ewan West                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"19 Aug 2026 9:14 PM\" data-ps-date=\"19 Aug 2026 9:14 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1787170475\"><br \/>\n                            19 Aug 2026 9:14 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" 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              <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Emma Raducanu\u2019s injury is \u2018worst case scenario\u2019 as leading expert reveals recovery timeframe\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Emma-Raducanu-takes-a-break-from-training-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: Emma Raducanu takes a break from training\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Emma Raducanu takes a break from training                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p>Leading injury prevention and athlete welfare expert Stephen Smith has told Tennis365 that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/emma-raducanu\">Emma Raducanu<\/a>\u2019s stress fracture in her leg is \u201cthe worst case scenario\u201d for the British star.<\/p>\n<p>Raducanu has been sidelined since her straight-set defeat to Donna Vekic in the final at the Queen\u2019s Club Championships on 14 June.<\/p>\n<p>The 2021 US Open champion withdrew from Wimbledon on the eve of the tournament, and it emerged that she had suffered a grade four stress fracture in her right shin.<\/p>\n<p>The 23-year-old pulled out of the 2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/us-open\">US Open<\/a> almost a month before the start date after she had withdrawn from the WTA 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati.<\/p>\n<p>The world No 59 has played only 21 matches in the 2026 season and holds an 11-10 record.<\/p>\n<p>Smith, who is the founder and CEO of Kitman Labs \u2014 the world\u2019s leading sports science and performance intelligence company \u2014 outlined the severity of Raducanu\u2019s injury.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA grade four stress fracture is the most serious classification. It indicates a near complete break \u2014 it doesn\u2019t get much more serious than that,\u201d Smith explained.<\/p>\n<h2>WTA Tour News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/emma-raducanu\"><strong>Emma Raducanu\u2019s big rankings collapse is confirmed as she loses her one big title<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/alex-eala-world-no-1-ranking-claim-serve-serena-williams-former-coach\"><strong>\u2018Alex Eala will be right in there for world No 1 ranking if she does one thing\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cGenerally, the recovery windows for an injury like that are anywhere from eight to 16 weeks, and often, it can even take longer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe in other sports that are using other surfaces, it may be marginally less impactful, but the types of courts, the hard courts and hard surfaces that she\u2019s been playing on\u2026 it\u2019s probably the worst case scenario for someone like her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo have that in your shin, rather than even in your foot, it\u2019s pretty indicative of some significant level of overload.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After Raducanu ended her 2025 season early in mid-October having struggled with physical issues at events in Wuhan and Ningbo, her preparations for the 2026 season were disrupted by a bone injury in her right foot that restricted her ability to train.<\/p>\n<p>Smith assessed that Raducanu\u2019s sub-optimal off-season was likely a factor in her body breaking down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the risks of having a shortened or disrupted pre-season is it doesn\u2019t allow you to build that base that you need,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously, that was the case for her, and unfortunately, that\u2019s resulted in a breakdown. And an injury like this, it\u2019s not a single event, it\u2019s a degenerative thing where there\u2019s multiple overloads.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat would tell us that, certainly, the base needed for what was happening wasn\u2019t there, and the result is what we\u2019re seeing right now.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, I think we can suggest that the interruption to her pre-season has now reared its head.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/emma-raducanu-australian-open-2026-leading-injury-expert-interview\">When he spoke to Tennis365 about Raducanu in January<\/a>, Smith warned that her disrupted pre-season could have \u201ca meaningful impact on the entire season\u201d, and he even highlighted the risk of a stress fracture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf she has to overload that, or has to put too much stress and strain on a bone bruise like that, the risk for that is a stress fracture,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/carlos-alcaraz-injury-good-sign-leading-expert-exclusive\">Exclusive \u2013 Carlos Alcaraz\u2019s lengthy injury absence could be a \u2018good sign\u2019, according to leading expert<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Emma Raducanu\u2019s injury is \u2018worst case scenario\u2019 as leading expert reveals recovery timeframe Ewan West 19 Aug 2026 9:14 PM Emma Raducanu takes a break from training Leading injury prevention and athlete welfare expert Stephen Smith has told Tennis365 that Emma Raducanu\u2019s stress fracture in her leg is \u201cthe worst case scenario\u201d for the British [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-2101368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2101368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2101368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2101368\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2101368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2101368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2101368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}