Emma Raducanu, the 22-year-old British tennis sensation, has decided to take a well-deserved breather following an electrifying run at the Miami Open in 2025. The former US Open champion, whose star power has only grown since her fairytale triumph in 2021, reached the quarterfinals of the prestigious WTA 1000 event—a career milestone that showcased her resilience and reignited her competitive fire. But after a grueling week in the Florida heat, Raducanu is opting to delay her return to the court, choosing reflection over an immediate plunge into the clay-court season. It’s a move that speaks volumes about her journey, her priorities, and the physical toll of her deepest tournament run in years.
The Miami Open was a revelation for Raducanu. Arriving with a cloud of uncertainty after a shaky start to the year—marred by a back injury, a coaching shakeup, and a chilling stalker incident in Dubai—she transformed the Hard Rock Stadium into her personal stage. She stormed through four matches, toppling top-20 players like Emma Navarro and Amanda Anisimova with a blend of grit and flair that harkened back to her New York heroics. Her quarterfinal clash with world number four Jessica Pegula was a three-set thriller that tested her limits. “I just felt really dizzy,” she admitted after the match, recounting how humidity and exhaustion forced a medical timeout late in the second set. Despite rallying to win that set in a tiebreak, she couldn’t outlast Pegula, who sealed a 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 victory. Yet, the defeat did little to dim the shine of her resurgence.
Raducanu’s Miami campaign wasn’t just about wins—it was a testament to her rediscovery of joy on the court. After parting ways with Slovak coach Vladimir Platenik just before the tournament, she leaned on a familiar crew: childhood confidante Jane O’Donoghue, broadcaster-turned-mentor Mark Petchey, and fitness guru Yutaka Nakamura. This makeshift team brought levity to her preparation—think spikeball games minutes before matches—and unlocked a freer, more authentic version of her game. “When I play my best, I am definitely authentic, true to myself and creative,” she reflected, emphasizing how this relaxed vibe contrasted with the rigidity she’d felt under stricter coaching regimes. The result? A top-50 return in the rankings, her highest perch since wrist and ankle surgeries sidelined her in 2023.
Now, with the clay season beckoning, Raducanu is pressing pause. She’s confirmed to skip the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, a tournament she’s played in past years, and will instead ease back into competition at the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers on April 11-12, representing Great Britain against Germany and the Netherlands. After that, she’s eyeing the Open de Rouen, a WTA 250 event in France starting April 14, rather than jumping straight into the high-stakes Madrid Open. “I’m not sure what’s next,” she mused post-Miami. “I think I need to take a beat and re-evaluate what I’m doing.” It’s a pragmatic choice for a player who’s battled physical setbacks and knows the importance of pacing herself for the long haul.
This break isn’t just about recovery—it’s about recalibration. Raducanu’s Miami run proved she can still tangle with the elite, but it also exposed the fine line she walks between brilliance and burnout. The humid conditions that left her faint against Pegula were a stark reminder of her body’s limits, especially after a year of navigating injuries and off-court turbulence. By stepping back, she’s giving herself space to build on this momentum sustainably, perhaps plotting a clay-court surge that could peak at Roland Garros. For fans, the wait might sting, but it’s a small price to pay for a player whose ceiling remains sky-high. When she returns, racket in hand and spirit renewed, Raducanu’s next chapter promises to be worth the delay.