Emma Raducanu is set to begin her 2026 clay-court season in Linz.
The Upper Austria Ladies Linz is a WTA 500 event has switched to indoor clay for this year’s edition.
The first edition of the tournament will be held from April 6-12 with Raducanu among the seeds.
Raducanu has committed to playing the tournament in Austria, which runs across the same week as Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup match against Australia. Katie Boulter and Fran Jones also not part of the squad.
“It’s a difficult time of year to be going back to Australia. It’s the start of the clay-court season for most of the players,” said Keothavong, speaking on Sky Sports.
“I know most of the players take huge pride in representing Great Britain in this competition, but they also have to make choices for their own tennis and for their own health.”
New clothing deal for Raducanu
Emma Raducanu has joined UNIQLO (Credit: Fast Retailing/UNIQLO)
Raducanu has recently joined Japanese manufacturer Uniqlo as a brand ambassador after ending her association with Nike and wore her new sponsor’s outfits for the first time at Indian Wells.
Uniqlo said in a post on Instagram: “Emma will champion UNIQLO’s LifeWear philosophy, which is committed to pursuing excellence, making meaningful contributions to society, and empowering the next generation.”
Raducanu said: “UNIQLO and I share many values and perspectives on life, culture, and society.
“I am excited to promote LifeWear through my tennis career, and to working with everybody at UNIQLO to inspire and engage young people everywhere.”
What is Raducanu’s current ranking?
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In this episode of Sky Sports Editions, we meet a passionate lover of the arts who refuses to be boxed in – Raducanu. Some footage provided is courtesy of IMG
In the WTA rankings, Raducanu sits at No 23. Her career-high ranking was No 10, back in July 2022.
She holds a 7-7 record in 2026 after a mixed start to the campaign, with her runner-up finish at the WTA 250 event in Cluj-Napoca at the start of February the highlight of her year to date.
Who is Raducanu’s coach?
Raducanu worked alongside coach Mark Petchey at Indian Wells
News emerged in January that Raducanu is searching for a 10th coach in the last five years after splitting with Francis Roig following her early Australian Open exit.
Raducanu announced she ended her partnership with Roig, who helped Rafael Nadal win 16 of his 22 Grand Slam titles, after less than six months together.
She has been assisted by LTA coach Alexis Canter since parting ways with Spaniard Roig, while she also linked up with Mark Petchey once again at Indian Wells.
Since her breakthrough at Wimbledon 2021 and that spectacular triumph at the US Open later that year, the longest period of time Raducanu has been with the same coach for is 13 months.
How has Raducanu’s 2026 season started?
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Sky Sports’ Tim Henman and Martina Navratilova debate if Emma Raducanu needs to commit to a long-term coach and improve her off-court physicality to reach her full potential
Raducanu made her return to competitive tennis in the United Cup in January but suffered a first career loss to Maria Sakkari after which she revealed that she was unable to play for two and a half months due to an ongoing injury.
Her preparations for the Australian Open took a further hit after she was stunned 6-2 6-4 by Taylah Preston in the quarter-finals of the Hobart International, but she made a winning start at Melbourne Park a few days later.
Seeded 28th for the first Grand Slam of the year, Raducanu overcame Mananchaya Sawangkaew in the first round at the Australian Open only to suffer a second-round defeat to Anastasia Potapova in straight sets.
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Raducanu admits she ran out of energy in the Transylvania Open final against Sorana Cirstea as she fell to a heavy defeat and discusses what influence LTA coach Alexis Canter has had on her game
Raducanu missed the chance to win her first title since her US Open triumph in 2021 after losing in straight sets to home favourite Sorana Cirstea in the Transylvania Open final.
Top seed Raducanu was feeling the effects of her marathon semi-final win against Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova, losing out to Cirstea 6-0 6-2 in little over an hour in Cluj.
She then retired due to illness from her first-round match at the Qatar Open against world No 80 Camilla Osorio – just two days after losing the final at the Transylvania Open.
Raducanu had time to prepare for her tournament but she lost the final six games to fall to a 6-1 5-7 6-2 defeat to lucky loser Antonia Ruzic in the opening round at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
At Indian Wells, she breezed past Anastasia Zakharova in the second round, before a 52-minute drubbing to two-time Grand Slam runner-up Amanda Anisimova.
The 23-year-old had bene recovering from post viral symptoms she picked up in the Middle East and made the decision to pull out of her next scheduled tournament – the Miami Open.
How many Grand Slam titles has Raducanu won?
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Highlights of Raducanu’s historic win at the 2021 US Open
So far, the 2021 US Open victory remains Raducanu’s sole success in a major tournament. She reached the fourth round in Wimbledon that year – a feat she matched in 2024 and might have bettered were it not for injury – but at the Australian and French Opens, she has never progressed beyond the third round.