Emma Raducanu's campaign at the 2026 Australian Open ended in the second round with a 7-6(3), 6-2 defeat to Anastasia Potapova. The British No. 1 had led 5-3 in the first set but faltered under pressure. Former champion Andy Roddick urged her to play more and demand greater results from herself.
Emma Raducanu, the 28th seed and 2021 US Open champion, began her 2026 Australian Open strongly by defeating Thailand's Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1 in the first round. However, her progress halted against world No. 55 Anastasia Potapova in a match marked by missed opportunities.
Raducanu led by a break three times in the opening set and had a chance to serve for it at 5-4, but she lost four straight points on serve, allowing Potapova to force a tiebreak. Potapova dominated the breaker, taking a 5-2 lead and securing a fourth mini-break to win 7-6(3) after an hour. In the second set, Potapova raced to a 3-0 double-break advantage and added a third break to close out the 6-2 victory. Raducanu won just 45% of points on her serve (27/60) throughout the match, highlighting serve struggles.
Post-match, Raducanu remained pragmatic. "I don’t want to give myself too much of a hard time because I know my preparation going into this tournament," she said. "I didn’t even know at the beginning if I would be coming to Australia, so it’s a positive in that sense. I need to take it for what it is, be pragmatic and go back and just keep working and the season’s still quite long."
Andy Roddick, the 2003 US Open winner, offered blunt advice on his Served with Andy Roddick podcast. "I love Raducanu. I think she’s wildly intelligent. Her game is obviously fantastic," he said. "But yeah, I saw that from Emma. She’s like, ‘I want to play less this year.’ Earth wants you to play more, right? You haven’t played a full season. It’s been five years since the US Open. You’ve got to play more."
Roddick expressed frustration with Raducanu's contentment after the loss, noting her sole singles title remains the 2021 US Open. This marks Raducanu's fifth consecutive second-round exit at Melbourne Park, amid ongoing recovery from a foot injury that delayed her season start. She lost to Maria Sakkari at the United Cup and reached the Hobart quarterfinals before the Grand Slam.
Sky Sports' Jonathan Overend questioned her coaching with Francisco Roig, suggesting possible confusion behind the scenes. Raducanu's next events include the Transylvania Open (February 2-8), Qatar Open (9-15), and Dubai Tennis Championships.
