Emma Raducanu breathes sigh of relief as British ace suffers huge drop down world rankings

Emma Raducanu has managed to stay at No. 29 in the WTA world rankings despite ending her season early due to injury. However, fellow Brit Katie Boulter has watched her ranking drop a massive 21 places to No. 100.

Raducanu was performing at the Ningbo Open in October when she suffered a season-ending lower back injury. The British No. 1 took two medical timeouts in the first-round defeat to Ann Li and was forced to retire due to the problem. The 22-year-old was scheduled to play at the Hong Kong Open but decided to end her 2025 campaign early to focus on next season. Raducanu has had an up-and-down year after parting ways with coach Nick Cavaday and cycling through various coaches before settling on Rafael Nadal's former right-hand man, Francesco Roig.

The young star was also left terrified during the Dubai Tennis Championships after spotting a man in the crowd who had been repeatedly trying to interact with her.

Following this incident, the man was banned from WTA events and was even caught trying to apply for Wimbledon tickets later in the year. Despite this, the 22-year-old has played some great tennis, with one game against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round at Wimbledon standing out.

Raducanu's ranking is a significant advantage as she prepares for 2026 and hopes to secure a seeding for the Australian Open, which is scheduled to take place in January.

Meanwhile, fellow Brit Boulter hasn't been left so chuffed as her ranking dropped from No. 79 to No. 100 after early round exits at both the US Open and Wimbledon in recent months. The 29-year-old retired from her first-round match against Alexandra Eala at the Hong Kong Open and was visibly emotional.

Boulter has won just eight of her past 21 main draw matches, failing to progress beyond the second round of a tournament since the Nottingham Open in June. This has meant her WTA ranking has collapsed in 2025 after starting the year at No. 24.

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Both Brits will be hoping to kickstart 2026 with good performances at the Australian Open, but recovery is paramount for Raducanu and Boulter heading into the off-season.