Erratic Emma Raducanu bounced out of Australian Open by Anastasia Potapova

Emma Raducanu crashed out of the Australian Open in the second round with a poor 7-6 (3), 6-2 loss to Anastasia Potapova after a tepid, error-strewn performance in Melbourne.

Having only lost to grand slam champions inside the top 10 at the grand slams last year – Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek twice – defeat to world No 55 Potapova is Raducanu’s worst first-week result by ranking since the 2024 Australian Open, which was her comeback major from an eight-month layoff.

Raducanu, the 28th seed, was in control for a significant portion of the match after establishing a 5-3 lead and serving for a set. However, after being more solid than her opponent for much of the opening set, she crumbled in the decisive moments. Raducanu’s struggles were identical to her issues in the opening matches of the season; her first serve was impotent and imprecise in the important moments, and her forehand was painfully erratic.

This had been billed as one of the more notable second round matches. Potapova is a talented shotmaker with a career high ranking of No 21. Despite the one-dimensional nature of her game, she is an excellent ball-striker and relentless in her desperation to dominate all opponents. However, the 24-year-old has largely failed to live up to the early hype after being one of the best junior players of their generation, winning junior Wimbledon in 2016 and reaching No 1.

The early stages of this encounter were cagey and erratic from both players, but it was Raducanu who settled down first, gradually finding stability on the baseline. She was rewarded for her solid, practical play in windy conditions with a break lead for much of the set. While serving out the set 5-4, however, she visibly tensed up and played a dire service game to relinquish her advantage. By the tie-break, Raducanu had completely lost control of her forehand, which sprayed unforced errors until the end of the set.

With the first set secured, Potapova opened up her shoulders and closed out the second striking the ball cleanly and with total confidence in her game, refusing to allow Raducanu back in the court. The Briton offered minimal fight, her forehand unforced error count continuing to rise until the end.

Potapova’s victory earns her a shot at Aryna Sabalenka in the third round after Sabalenka, the No 1 seed and two-time champion in Melbourne, eased into the second round with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Bai Zhuoxuan.

For Potapova, this strong win may just redirect attention from the discourse that surrounded her before the tournament. Last month, the Russian-born player announced that she had changed her nationality to Austrian. She chose to make her surprise announcement by plagiarising the statement released by her former compatriot, Daria Kasatkina, when she announced her Australian residency last March.

To the bemusement of Kasatkina herself, Potapova changed just two words of Kasatkina’s original statement before publishing the statement as her own: Australia to Austria and Melbourne to Wien. “I don’t find anything wrong with that because you cannot say it in a better way,” Potapova said this week. “And why not? And yeah, it was perfect words. I loved it. We loved it with my team, with everyone.”