Andrew Castle has sparked fears that Emma Raducanu could announce a sudden retirement. The British No. 1 has faced numerous setbacks since her historic title win at the US Open five years ago. In 2023, she had surgery on both wrists and one ankle. And this season alone, she has battled a foot problem, post-viral illness, and now a stress fracture in her leg.
Raducanu's injury woes continue
When Raducanu has been healthy, she’s shown form and consistency. Despite multiple physical issues this year, the world No. 49 has already reached two finals. In 2025, she played 50 matches – her most in a single season. But after her ongoing leg injury forced her to withdraw from the upcoming US Open, Castle has questioned whether the Brit will one day “have enough”.
For now, the 2021 US Open champion has continued practising during her injury layoff, sharing videos of herself hitting serves while wearing a protective boot. Raducanu had already missed two months of action this year due to illness, and will spend at least three months away from competition as a result of her stress fracture.
Castle's fears over motivation
Should her time on the sidelines continue, Castle fears it could wreck her motivation. “When she moves, when she plays, you can still see a really, truly, brilliant player there, so with a bit of luck, she will be back, and she wants to be back, because after a while, I would imagine it's difficult to stay motivated,” he told Betway.
It’s not just Raducanu’s resolve that could be affected. The 23-year-old has faced intense scrutiny throughout her five-year career for everything from results to coaching decisions to injuries.
Asked whether he could see the British No. 1 retiring, the former BBC Wimbledon commentator said: “Well, put it this way. I mean, I've got no access to that camp whatsoever, but it wouldn't surprise me if one day out of the blue, she just said, you know, ‘I've had enough of all this’. I mean, don't we all say that? She doesn't have an obligation to anybody but herself and her family. That's it.
“There is nothing else. All the sponsors and everybody else, they're not the ones whose career this is. It's her choice, but I mean, I hope she carries on. I would love to see her have three or four years of freedom away from injury, and just to play tennis.”
Scrutiny and sudden fame
While Raducanu has had brutal luck in the injury department over the years, Castle also noted that her sudden rise to fame won’t have helped. “I mean, it would have been great if right at the beginning, she could have literally just picked up a racket and just gone and played a few Challengers, or whatever you want,” he explained.
“It would have been great to have seen that, because she just went from sort of child to champion. I wouldn't know, but I've seen it a million times in a lot of different scenarios, not just sport. That is hard to cope with, let alone the injuries.
That level of attention, and of course, well, people would say, well, ‘She's richly rewarded’, which she is. She'll never have money worries again. So that's a good thing, but it's not all about that. I mean, beyond that, it's now for her, about being as good as she can be.
“With the injuries that she's had, can she now achieve that potential, which would be another Grand Slam for me still? We've all had our doubts about it, but what we say is unimportant. I hope she's all right.”
