Emma Raducanu’s Renaissance in Romania

Emma Raducanu has stood in only two finals during her professional career so far. Remarkably, both occurred within the same fortnight, sort of.

It was August 2021 when a teenage Raducanu competed at the Chicago Challenger, fresh off what many considered a breakthrough performance at Wimbledon. She won a couple of matches before her run ended against Ajla Tomljanovic, forced to retire mid-match due to health issues. The narrative surrounding her shifted dramatically as she went from a player praised for her fearlessness to one questioned about her readiness for the highest level.

What happened a few weeks later silenced the critics. At least temporarily.

Raducanu reached the challenger final and appeared poised to qualify for the US Open. Despite losing that final to Clara Tauson, the British player qualified for the main draw anyway. What followed was nothing short of extraordinary. She played breathtaking tennis that somehow improved with each match. 

One by one, opponents fell. Raducanu reached the final, won it, and became the first qualifier in history to claim a Grand Slam title. Stardom beckoned. Brand deals materialized. A brilliant future seemed assured.

Everything appeared within reach for the teenager, but reality had other plans. Injuries plagued her progress. She cycled through coaches, struggled to rediscover her level, and faced whispers about her motivation.

She’s only recently found something resembling consistency, posting a 23-13 record in 2024 and 28-22 in 2025. Neither record suggests elite status, and neither did her tennis.

Is change coming in 2026?

Countless fans still harbor quiet hope that Emma Raducanu will one day recapture even a shadow of her best form. It hasn’t materialized yet, but at 23, time remains on her side, provided the motivation exists. For now, it appears she’s found it, perhaps because the brand deals and fame have largely faded. It’s time to earn them back.

So what has 2026 brought so far?

She opened her season at the United Cup against Maria Sakkari in a competitive three-setter that ultimately went Sakkari’s way. At Hobart, she reached the quarterfinals before falling to Taylah Preston. The Australian Open delivered a solid first-round victory followed by a second-round exit. The performances have been mixed, much like everything since that September night in New York.

She beats some players but falls to others she should challenge more competitively. Yet a glimmer of hope emerged at the Cluj-Napoca event. Raducanu, who has Romanian heritage, has competed in Cluj before but never managed a deep run, at least until this year. She won three straight-sets matches, posting two bagel sets among the six won. Before today, she stood in the semifinals with a chance to reach her first final, at any level, since that US Open triumph in September 2021.

Her opponent was Oleksandra Oliynykova, known for grinding out rallies and turning matches into wars of attrition which is precisely the style Raducanu dislikes. She struggled against the Ukrainian’s defensive wall but eventually broke through, winning in three sets to book the final.

Nearly five years after her historic US Open victory, Raducanu will contest another final. It’s a massive moment.

If she can win it, perhaps she can finally turn the page toward truly elite tennis once again. Only time will tell, but for the one-time Grand Slam champion, this is a much-needed start towards that path.