Emma Raducanu recovers from slow start to ease through at Australian Open

Sixteen minutes into her opening match at Melbourne Park, Emma Raducanu was 1-3, 15-40 down and flailing badly. Across the net from a relatively unknown opponent playing lights out tennis on her grand slam debut, this could have been a moment where panic set in, errors flowed and life became even more difficult.

However, Raducanu remained positive and rallied impressively, quickly recovering from her slow start before moving easily into the second round of the Australian Open with a 6-4, 6-1 win against Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand.

Under tricky circumstances late at night against an impressive opponent, this was a strong start that should imbue Raducanu with much-needed confidence as she continues her attempts to get up to pace with the tour after a difficult off-season. “I feel very happy to have gotten through the match,” Raducanu said.

“From the beginning, I felt like she was playing incredibly well. All of her returns and shots seemed to fall on the baseline and were really difficult. So I’m really happy with how I was able to fight back.”

On Saturday, Raducanu was critical of the scheduling decisions of the Australian Open organisers after she had just one day to prepare on-site for her first match. Raducanu had competed in Hobart on Thursday evening and a delayed flight meant she only arrived in Melbourne on Friday, with just one day to practise and adjust to the new conditions.

With a men’s match scheduled before them, and an even later finish on the cards, Raducanu opted to hold her only training session of the tournament between 9:15pm and 11pm, which she described as the latest practice of her life. “I’m a night owl, but not to play. I’m a night owl to do other things, have Emma time,” she said, smiling.

“I’ve been trying to train myself to be better in the night. Last night I practised late, and it’s good to feel the day. Half the battle for me, to be honest, is how to arrange the day, when to switch on, when to switch off. I’ve gone through a few trials of what works, what doesn’t work. Today I actually felt really good before the match. It helped that the match before, it didn’t take very long. I wasn’t on too late.”

The level displayed by Sawangkaew, a 23-year-old making her grand slam main-draw debut, was the most significant factor in her early deficit. Sawangkaew is a talented player whose current world ranking of 195 does not reflect her abilities. She had been rising steadily in 2025, breaking into the top 100 just before she was forced off the tour for six months due to injury. She dominated the early exchanges with her heavy topspin forehand, constantly looking for opportunities to close down the net and eking out errors from Raducanu with her excellent defensive skills. “I actually didn’t feel particularly bad in terms of doing much wrong,” Raducanu said.

Not for the first time this year, Raducanu was punished for her imprecise and impotent serving while she struggled to absorb pace with her forehand. However, staring down a double break deficit, both shots began to click. She landed first serves on key points and definitively took control of the baseline with her forehand. Once she found her rhythm, she rolled to victory.

“Today overall in all my shots, I felt like I had better control than I did in the last few weeks,” she said. “But the last few weeks’ matches and points, everything I’ve been doing on the court, has really helped to be in the situation I am in today. If had I not played those three matches, despite how they went, I don’t know if I would have gotten through today. I’m happy I put myself in those situations.”

A tougher challenge awaits in round two as she next faces Anastasia Potapova, a Russian-born player who switched allegiances to Austria at the beginning of this year. Potapova is ranked No 54 but she has been as high as No 21 in the past and, as a former junior No 1, she is a well-known player. With a potential match-up with the No 1 Aryna Sabalenka looming in round three, this will offer a clear indication of exactly where Raducanu is in her development.

Elsewhere, Sabalenka began her tournament with a comfortable first-round victory on Sunday night, rolling through the French wildcard Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah 6-4, 6-1. Sabalenka, who has reached three consecutive finals in Melbourne, winning two titles, remains the tournament favourite.

As Roger Federer watched on from the stands, Sabalenka demonstrated her continued improvement by approaching the net 22 times, winning 16% of net points: “I was definitely working on serve and volley,” she said.

“I’m super happy to be able to do it on the match. On the practice is one thing, but to be able to be kind of, like, fearless and go there at the match is something else. I’m really proud I’m able to show this tennis.”

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