Emma Raducanu practises in an orthopedic boot as injury-stricken British No 1 unwinds in the Swiss Alps with less than a month to go until US Open
Emma Raducanu heralded the ‘best reset ever’ after a holiday in the Swiss Alps, but raised concern among her fans as she continued to practise in an orthopedic boot with less than a month to go until the US Open.
The British No1’s season has been one of promising peaks but speckled with injury, after a post-viral illness torpedoed her clay season.
Returning to her stronger grass surface, Raducanu reached the final at Queen’s Club before her narrow defeat to Donna Vekic.
The 23-year-old was unable to build on this however, after picking up a grade-four stress fracture in the aftermath of the final which kept her out of Wimbledon.
Raducanu was pictured sporting the protective boot as her WTA peers played their opening rounds in SW19, and shared on social media that she continues to wear it for practising her serve.
The former US Open champion chose the picturesque backdrop of St Moritz’s Grand Hotel Suvretta House, a five-star hotel in the heart of the upscale Swiss resort.
Emma Raducanu has been unwinding at the five-star Grand Hotel Suvretta House in St Moritz
The British No 1 continued to practice in an orthopedic boot after sustaining a grade four stress fracture (pictured right in July)
Billed as a ‘luxury fitness retreat’, the hotel – where a Junior Suite can be booked for £1,038 a-night (1,130 CHF) – boasts tennis courts, a spa and close proximity to alpine walking trails and Lake Sils.
But with less than a month until her potential run-out in Flushing Meadows, evidence of her practising wearing the boot, on the hotel’s clay rather than hard court, might have been cold comfort to those keen to see her back full to fitness.
Raducanu previously shared a video on social media of herself wearing the boot while she practised her serve perched on top of a rubbish bin.
‘Not in the bin but on the bin,’ she captioned the image with a wink.
Raducanu’s withdrawal on the eve of her home Grand Slam saw the player experience a drop in her ranking as she lost the points gained by reaching last year’s third round.
In 2025, Raducanu then chased her grass season with a competitive hard-court build-up ahead of New York, reaching the semi-final in Washington, the third round in Montreal, and the second in Cincinnati.
With all those points set to be lost, Raducanu – who is currently ranked 49th in the world – will likely drop out of the top 50 and could possibly lose her standing as British No1 to Katie Boulter, who is currently 20 points behind her compatriot.
Raducanu will also have to prepare for the possibility of a tricky first round at the US Open with no chance of securing a seeded berth.
As she continues to recover from her own injury, she may be watching the travails of her fellow injury-stricken countryman Jack Draper, who was handed a wildcard to play this week’s Canada Open in Montreal.
Raducanu described the break at the luxury fitness resort as the ‘best reset ever’ on Instagram
In a round-up she shared the stunning vistas from the property, which overlooks Lake Sils
Meanwhile with the hard court swing started in earnest, her compatriot Jack Draper is looking to return to competitive action after a similarly injury-stricken 2026
The 24-year-old, who played last year’s US Open as the world No5, has seen his early summer injury comeback hampered by continuing issues, forcing his own withdrawal from Wimbledon ahead of the first round and a late withdrawal from last week’s Mubadala DC Open in Washington.
Draper, who is coached by tennis legend Andy Murray, has since called for patience and time as he seeks to climb higher than his current No147 ranking.
‘It’s important for people to recognise that the injury I have is very complex, it’s very complicated and everyone around me is doing everything we can to help this keep moving along,’ he told Sky Sports on Sunday. ‘It’s not as simple as “rest and heal up and you’ll come back and you’ll be fine.”
‘Everything outside of tennis I’m doing amazingly well, everything on the court I’m managing really well too, so I’m at a point now where I’m happy that I will come through this period.
‘It’s just going to take some time, but I’m doing all the right things, and the people around me are really supporting me.’