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Emma Raducanu has called an end to her 2025 season - but not before agreeing a one-year extension with coach Francis Roig.
The British No 1 lost in the first round in both Wuhan and Ningbo, having her blood pressure and vitals checked during each match. In between she visited a doctor and after the latter defeat, to China's Zhu Lin, Daily Mail Sport suggested she was likely to wrap up her season early.
So it has proved. Raducanu is understood to have been feeling unwell for the last week or so and has decided to focus on recovery, withdrawing from upcoming events in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Her attention will turn to a pre-season training block, where she will be joined by Roig.
In August Raducanu agreed a deal to work with the Spaniard - who was a key cog in the Rafael Nadal machine for 17 years - until the end of the season. Results have been around par since then but the pair have hit it off. At the US Open, Raducanu - a noted culture vulture - shunned the galleries of Manhattan to put in extra training time, such was the enjoyment she found in working with Roig.
And now their deal has been extended into 2026, with both player and coach said to be 'excited' about the future of their relationship.
So, how to assess Raducanu's 2025 season? Last December, she told us her main aims were to stay fit and play a fuller schedule. By and large, both aims have been achieved.
Emma Raducanu's 2025 season has come to an end after she suffered another health scare
Raducanu is understood to have been feeling unwell for the last week or so - but has agreed a new deal with coach Francis Roig
Niggly back spasms aside the 22-year-old has been injury-free, her only retirement of the year coming in Wuhan last week as she battled illness and humidity.
She has played 50 matches - way above her previous high-watermark of 36 in 2024 and 2022 - and 21 events - also her most, after 18 in 2022.
Raducanu is at No29 in the world - her highest ranking since she fell in the first round defending her US Open title in 2022. Top 30 feels like the minimum ranking her talents deserve and, with a blue-chip operator like Roig in her corner, she should push higher next season.
That ranking, however, leaves her vulnerable to dropping out of the seeding spots at the Australian Open, where only the top 32 are given that protection. By packing up her season early she gives those below every chance to leapfrog her and Raducanu's results at the Grand Slams have showed how important it can be to avoid the big hitters early.
Raducanu played some lovely stuff at the majors in 2025 but did not go beyond the third round, stopped in turn by Iga Swiatek, Swiatek (again), Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.
When she and Roig reconnect for pre-season, item one on the agenda will be how to narrow the gap between herself and the creme de la creme of women's tennis.
