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

Emma Raducanu rallied impressively from a slow start and early deficit to open her Australian Open with a solid victory, moving into the second round with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Mananchaya Sawangkaew.

Raducanu had struggled early on, trailing 1-3, 15-40 against an impressive Sawangkaew. However, she found her form quickly, rolling through 11 of the subsequent 13 games to close out a comfortable victory.

“I feel very happy to have gotten through the match,” said Raducanu. “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 prepare for the Melbourne conditions. That discomfort in the conditions was perhaps reflected in Raducanu’s early struggles.

However, the level displayed by Sawangkaew, a 23-year-old Thai player making her grand slam debut, was the most significant factor in the scoreline. 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 demonstrated her quality from the beginning, dictating much of the early exchanges with her whippy topspin forehand, constantly looking for opportunities to close down the net and eking out errors from Raducanu with her excellent defensive skills.

Not for the first time this year, Raducanu was punished for her imprecise and impotent serving. However, staring down a double break deficit, things began to click. She landed first serves on key points and effectively searched for forehands, another issue in her recent matches, to dictate with.

Raducanu can be composed and quiet on court, but here she was extremely vocal, grunting frequently, punctuating victorious points with cheers and making her presence felt against an inexperienced opponent. Once she found her rhythm, she rolled to victory.