Emma Raducanu believes she is on the right path towards greater success in 2026 as she prepares to begin the new tennis season as Great Britain’s leading player at the United Cup in Australia. The British women’s No 1 will make her debut in the mixed-gender team competition on Sunday against Japan’s Naomi Osaka.
“I think for me it’s just about stacking the good days,” said Raducanu on her hopes for 2026. “I’ve been putting in some good practices. Even if each practice isn’t as perfect as you want it to be, I think just the consistency of it is the most important thing. That’s what really helped me last year. So I just hope to carry that on and enjoy the tennis, enjoy the process of what I’m doing, which right now I am.”
Raducanu begins her year having finally appeared to have found some stability after a turbulent start to her career. The 23-year-old enjoyed her most consistent season in 2025, remaining healthy enough to compete regularly and return to the top 30 of the WTA rankings at No 9. Her coaching partnership with Francisco Roig, the former coach of Rafael Nadal, has looked promising since they began working together in August and her team now includes the physiotherapist and strength and conditioning coach, Emma Stewart, who most recently worked for British Rowing.
“Physically I also improved,” said Raducanu. “I became fitter, so I was able to play more matches and more tournaments on the road. That just gives us more opportunities to get some points here and there and also have good weeks when you’re in a good run of momentum to kind of carry that through three, four, five matches. So yeah, that was a really good benefit for me as well. Also, just my approach to playing. I’ve been a lot better, a lot more composed, but at the same time enjoying it a lot more again. That’s been a big win for me.”
The British team is rounded out by Billy Harris, Neal Skupski, Olivia Nicholls, Jan Choinski and Katie Swan, with Tim Henman the team captain. Britain have been drawn into a difficult three-team group as they begin against Japan on Sunday before facing a Greek team led by Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari on Monday. Until a few weeks ago, Britain was one of the favourites for the title after Jack Draper was announced in the team alongside Raducanu, but Draper has since withdrawn from the entire Australian swing due to his continued recovery from a bone bruise injury to his left arm.
