Emma Raducanu Update: 'Special' Christmas at home before Australian Open & important injury status

Emma Raducanu recently shared an update on her fitness and her plans for Christmas. According to the Brit, she feels good ahead of the upcoming 2026 tennis season. The former World No. 10 in women's singles tennis also laid bare her delight at getting the opportunity to spend this year's Christmas with her family after a gap of quite a few years.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today, Raducanu first touched on how she is feeling physically after suffering injury niggles towards the end of the 2025 tennis season, which she finished as the World No. 29.

"I feel quite content with how things are going on and off the court. I’m in a pretty good place. I just think, despite any challenges I have been facing with the foot or the health at the end of the season, I feel in a good place, and I’m building back in the gym, to start with," the 23-year-old said.

Later, Emma Raducanu revealed that she'll be in the UK for Christmas this year before she begins traveling again for her professional tennis commitments. Clearly excited and grateful at the same time about spending the festive period with her family, the 2021 US Open champion added:

"It’s the first Christmas that I will be in the UK since Covid, so that is extremely exciting for me, because the calendar starts a week later, which I’m very grateful for. That means I will be able to be with my family for Christmas for the first time in a while, so that’s really special. But of course the tour is incredibly demanding, and then once we are off, we’re off for a long time. So just make the most out of the time in the UK while I can."

Emma Raducanu hopes to 'play less' in 2026 having featured in 22 tournaments in 2025

Emma Raducanu at the 2025 Wuhan Open (Source: Getty)

In the same interaction with BBC Radio 4's Today, Emma Raducanu spoke up about her hope of not playing as many tournaments in 2026 as she did through the 2025 tennis season. In 2025, the Brit competed in 22 events, playing a total of 50 completed competitive singles matches in the process with a win-loss record of 28-22.

"I would say that next year, I hope to play less than I did this year. But I think also just incorporating into my warm-ups, fitness, so it’s not necessarily just my fitness sessions are like separate," Raducanu said.

Raducanu's final competitive outing in 2025 resulted in a shocking first-round loss to Zhu Lin at the WTA 500 Ningbo Open. There has been considerable excitement about the Brit's chances of success in 2026, particularly after she roped in Francisco Roig as her coach this year, with the Spaniard having famously worked with the legendary Rafael Nadal in the past.

Edited by Sudipto Pati