2026 is officially upon us, and with it comes renewed hope for the whole of the ATP and WTA Tours.
After all, the new year represents a fresh start, and one that Emma Raducanu will be keen to take advantage of.
The British number one has endured a career unlike any other, winning a Grand Slam title at just 18 years old before suffering injury after injury as she attempted to build upon it.
At last, 2025 presented the consistency in both form and fitness that has allowed the 21-year-old to steadily climb the world rankings.
However, if she is to truly kick on in the new year and start regularly challenging for titles, Raducanu’s outstanding issue is clear.
Emma Raducanu’s record vs top players
Her record against the world’s elite is simply not good enough.
To make deep runs at the best tournaments, or even to win the smaller ones, players almost always have to topple one of the top players.
How likely is it that Emma Raducanu wins another Grand Slam, and why?
However, Raducanu has a disappointing 3–17 against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.
Only one of those came in 2025, against an out-of-form Emma Navarro, marking an entire year where she struggled to compete with the very best.
Naturally, people will point to Raducanu’s great battles with Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon and in Cincinnati. On both occasions, though, it’s worth remembering that she seemed in the ascendancy yet still conspired to lose.
This marked progress, but she still needs to take the next step.
Emma Raducanu needs to learn how to beat the best
Fortunately, now that Francisco Roig has been working with Raducanu, the progress has been clear to see.
In fact, when speaking recently about her level, the comments made about what they had been working on gave a really positive outlook on her current game.
What does Emma Raducanu need to improve in 2026?
She claimed earlier this month: “Francis wants me to focus on building a better Emma Raducanu.
“I’ve always been more tactical, trying to exploit their weaknesses and be crafty. And it works, but the ideal is you don’t have to think too much about the other player: you can just go and execute your game.”
This suggests that both she and Roig are aware of this key issue, and the tennis world will wait with anticipation to see whether she can translate this into tangible success against the best players in 2026.
