Emma Raducanu’s ranking decline has gathered pace after she withdrew from the whole North American section of the WTA Tour, including the 2026 US Open.

The 2021 champion in New York will not be able to celebrate the anniversary of her only career title at Flushing Meadows after the foot stress fracture she picked up during her run to the final of the WTA 500 event at Queen’s Club in June. That problem forced her out of Wimbledon, and her decision to skip the return to her most successful venue later this month came as little surprise.

The consequences are already visible in the live rankings. The 23-year-old has dropped 10 places to No 59, and more movement is expected as she remains absent from the WTA 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati. Those missed tournaments will cost her ranking points, while the 130 points she earned for reaching the third round of last year’s US Open will also disappear from her total.

By the end of the US Open, she is projected to fall into the mid-80s, a level that could see her lose the British No 1 position to Katie Boulter. Another drop of that kind would place her in danger of slipping outside the top 100 unless she finishes 2026 strongly.

That scenario would leave her needing lower-level events or qualifying routes for bigger tournaments, an approach she has shown reluctance to take in the past.

Former British No 1 Annabel Croft, speaking on Sky Sports Tennis, said she feared the injury issues could rule Raducanu out for the rest of 2026.

“It feels as if she’s been unbelievably unlucky with the injury problems she’s faced throughout the course of her career. Don’t forget she’s had wrist surgery, feet problems, and now this stress fracture,” said Croft.

“There are so many injuries out there on the Tour, it seems like she never gets a clear run where she’s able to really go for it with her tennis, and her body, and her mind injury free.

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if she made that decision [to end her season now] and probably that wouldn’t be such a bad decision to take because you can fully heal, rest up, get as much treatment as possible, and then come out fully fit and raring to go at the start of next year.

“But the business side of tennis, I’m sure there’s a lot of enticing things coming her way down in Asia where she will want to play her best tennis there and she’ll be very much in demand.”

Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal from his planned return in Cincinnati has intensified uncertainty around his chances of defending his US Open crown. The Spaniard has not played a competitive match since hurting his wrist at the Barcelona Open in April, and he had been working back with the final Grand Slam of the year in mind.

That plan now looks increasingly fragile. A return in a best-of-five-set setting would have carried obvious risk, especially with the need to make sure the wrist can withstand the demands of longer matches. With Cincinnati now off the schedule, a former finalist at Flushing Meadows has argued that New York should be ruled out as well.

1997 US Open finalist Rusedski said Alcaraz would be better served by taking a longer break, even if that means missing the rest of the 2026 season. He stressed that wrist injuries can become a major concern for tennis players and warned that pushing too soon could create a bigger long-term problem.

“You can count the US Open out now. There is no way he’s gonna play in the US Open if he’s missing Cincinnati,” said Rusedski on the latest edition of his podcast.

“I was questioning where he was at a bit when we saw him hitting with juniors, but it looked pretty good with the movement, the strike, the new hairdo. Everything was looking good. Then we get this news.

“If this was just a little bit of inflammation, a little problem, he would be back by now. It’s something a little bit more serious. We don’t know if he’s had a tear, whether it’s something more, whether he’s had a little bit of surgery in there. Who knows what’s happened?

“And the only people who know are Carlos Alcaraz and the rest of his team. But this is taking a lot longer than we thought.

“I think take as long as you need, even if he misses the rest of the year and then starts up again in 2027.”

Rusedski also cited Jack Draper’s difficult injury battle as a warning sign, saying Alcaraz should protect his long-term health rather than force an early return. Alcaraz has not yet spoken on camera about the issue, and a final call on the US Open is expected a few days before the tournament.

Alex Eala arrives at the Canadian Open in strong form, and the draw has now shifted further in her favor after a series of second-round surprises. The 21-year-old moved past Alycia Parks in a three-set contest, winning 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, and gained some measure of revenge after Parks beat her at the Australian Open earlier this year.

That result booked Eala a third-round meeting with Caty McNally. On paper, the match is still a serious test, but it is less daunting than the one that appeared possible earlier in the week. McNally is ranked world No 70, which places her 50 spots below Eala in the WTA rankings.

Eala had been projected to meet Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova next, but McNally removed that possibility by upsetting the Czech player in straight sets in Toronto. That matters for Eala, who is 0-10 against Czech players at WTA level.

The Filipina also benefited from broader changes in her section of the draw. Twenty-first seed Marie Bouzkova and 22nd seed Barbora Krejcikova both exited in the second round, and both had been in Eala’s half. Eight more seeds also fell, including Sorana Cirstea, Maja Chwalinska, Emma Navarro, Jelena Ostapenko, Clara Tauson, Donna Vekic, and Katerina Siniakova.

Looking ahead, Eala’s likely route now points to Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals, Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals, and Aryna Sabalenka in the final. It is a demanding sequence, but Eala has already shown this season that she can beat elite opposition.

She has defeated seven top 10 players in 2026, including Gauff and Rybakina. At the Washington Open, she beat Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka, and Jessica Pegula in succession to claim her first WTA title. She is now inside the WTA top 20, and her victory over Parks was her ninth in her last 10 matches, a run that stretches back to Washington and Wimbledon, where she reached the fourth round.