EMMA RADUCANU IN RIGHT DIRECTION: NADAL'S EX-COACH JOINS TEAM FOR 2026 SEASON
Emma Raducanu's stability with coach Francisco Roig has her poised for a 2026 major challenge. Tim Henman credits the partnership for her top-30 finish and renewed enjoyment on tour.
Emma Raducanu might be a contender for major championships in 2026 because she has found some much-needed stability with her support group.
Raducanu ended the 2025 season ranked among the top 30 players on the WTA Tour. This is the highest she has finished a season since 2021, when she captured her first, and thus far only, Grand Slam title at the US Open.
She had a difficult time in the years after that due to frequent changes within her team and also because of injuries, which led to a lot of inconsistency. This seemed to change during the past season.
Raducanu performed well at times, reaching the semi-finals at the Citi Open, the quarter-finals at the Queen's Championships, and the quarter-finals at the Miami Open. Although she has not yet won another title since her memorable US Open victory, she is clearly moving forward positively.
One reason why Raducanu has been able to stabilise things could be her work with Francisco Roig. Roig is a seasoned coach who has previously worked with Rafael Nadal, and he has certainly contributed a lot.
Tim Henman, a former top 4 player, also believes that this is true. He talked with Sky Sports about Raducanu, and he emphasised Roig as a key factor in the British player's improvement.
"She's progressing well, and I believe we all recognised that she needed stability and consistency. She has Francisco Roig in her corner. It seems they are developing a strong partnership, and I am happy that it will continue into 2026. He brings a wealth of knowledge."
Laura Robson also commented on Raducanu during the same interview. The silver medallist from the 2012 London Olympics did not focus on Raducanu's team but instead on her demeanour both on and off the court towards the end of the 2025 season.
Raducanu seemed to be enjoying her time on the tour more, which could be very important for how well she does in the 2026 season. She is now in a position to be seeded for Grand Slams and does not have to worry about getting wild card entries or even playing in qualifying rounds.
"I can only imagine the amount of pressure she must have felt for a while with everyone expecting her to have the same level of success. It's incredibly difficult to follow up on that when you're healthy, let alone when you're recovering from injuries."
"We could see this at the US Open. She appears to be more relaxed. She played some golf in New York and is simply enjoying her time on the court, which is by far the most important thing. It's easy to forget how young she is."
Raducanu will almost certainly begin the 2026 season as a possible surprise contender at every major event. She has challenged the current world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, several times this year, showing that she can compete with the best players.
BREAKING: AUSTRALIAN OPEN SEEDING AT RISK! CHECK THE NEW 18-TOURNAMENT RANKING RULE NOW
The 2026 ATP season begins with a major rule change. Rankings now count only 18 tournaments, causing points to drop for the Top 10.
The 2026 ATP Tour season kicks off with the United Cup this Friday. Everyone's watching to see what happens in men's tennis this year.
There's a ranking rule change that started late in 2025 that everyone will be dealing with.
Here’s a breakdown of the change and who it's impacting:
What's the New Rule?
Before 2026, a player's ATP ranking could include points from 19 tournaments: the four Grand Slams, the eight mandatory Masters 1000 events, and their next seven best results.
These could be from the Monte Carlo Masters, ATP 500, ATP 250, or Challenger events. Qualifying for the ATP Finals was a bonus.
Now, only 18 events count. Rankings will only include the four Grand Slams, eight mandatory Masters events, and a player's six best results, plus the ATP Finals if they qualify.
Also, the top 30 players only need to play four ATP 500 events, instead of five.
Who's Affected in the Top 10?
This change took place recently, and seven players in the top 10 lost points. Their positions stayed the same this time, except for the players who are stated.
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Jack Draper were not affected.
Alexander Zverev lost 50 points, Novak Djokovic dropped 10, Felix Auger-Aliassime lost 55, Taylor Fritz dropped 50, Alex de Minaur lost 55, Lorenzo Musetti dropped 50, and Ben Shelton lost 10 points.
What About the Rest of the Rankings?
The top players are mostly okay, but the further down the rankings you go, the more change you'll see.
In the top 20, Jiri Lehecka is the only one impacted. He lost 10 points and fell to No. 18. Karen Khachanov moved up to 17th.
Luciano Darderi and Tallon Griekspoor switched places and are now ranked 25th and 26th. These were the only changes in the top 30.
Outside the top 30, there were bigger moves.
Jaume Munar jumped three spots to No. 33, and Corentin Moutet moved up to 34th. Brandon Nakashima and Stefanos Tsitsipas each fell two spots.
Now ranked 35th and 36th, Nakashima and Tsitsipas might have a harder time getting seeded for the Australian Open.
Pablo Carreno Busta dropped the most, falling from 89th to 93rd.
IMMEDIATE: SHOCKING DETAILS BEHIND CARLOS ALCARAZ-FERRERO SPLIT; WILL HE JOIN RIVAL JANNIK SINNER
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz has shocked tennis by splitting with Juan Carlos Ferrero. Learn the real reason behind the breakup.
Tennis fans were shocked when Carlos Alcaraz and his long-time coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, split. Ferrero has now said whether they've talked since.
Even though Alcaraz is only 22, his time with Ferrero is one of tennis' best. The 2003 French Open champ started coaching Alcaraz, who was a young, promising player in 2019.
With Ferrero's help, Alcaraz became a superstar and one of the most exciting players to watch. He's won six Grand Slams and finished 2025 as the world's top player, ahead of Jannik Sinner.
The only major title they didn't win together was the Australian Open. Even though it's still a few weeks away, people recently saw Alcaraz's outfit for the 2026 tournament in Melbourne. It's bright and colourful.
Alcaraz had a great 2025, winning two more Grand Slams, so the split was even more surprising. It sounds like disagreements between Ferrero and others close to Alcaraz caused the change.
In an interview, Ferrero answered a question everyone's been asking: Have he and Alcaraz been in touch since they stopped working together?
We haven't talked yet because he needs to relax so he can train. Once things calm down, we'll talk, and everything will be fine.
Ferrero's nice words about Alcaraz suggest they'll talk again. He thinks they can still be friends after all they've achieved.
I've learned a lot from Carlos. He's a kid with amazing charisma. He's always loyal and honest, tells the truth, and works really hard. I'm happy because once things settle, I'm sure we'll keep talking, remembering all the things we did together, and stay friends.
It must be tough for Ferrero not to be coaching Alcaraz after working so hard to make him one of the best. Taking some time before talking to the 22-year-old might also be good for him.
Juan Carlos Ferrero was also asked about coaching Jannik Sinner after splitting from Carlos Alcaraz.
Since 2024, one of Ferrero's main jobs has been helping Alcaraz figure out how to beat Jannik Sinner. Together, they've won every men's singles Grand Slam in the last two seasons.
Now that Ferrero isn't Alcaraz's coach, he was asked if he'd consider joining Sinner's team, which would be a huge change in tennis.
Ferrero didn't say no. Instead, he said he needed time to get used to not coaching Alcaraz. Sinner is still coached by Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill, after Cahill changed his mind about retiring at the end of 2025.