Early promise crumbles under pressure
Emma Raducanu started her second-round match against Anastasia Potapova with control and an early break advantage that allowed her to serve for the first set. For much of the opening phase things appeared to be going her way as she scrapped effectively from the baseline. However her strokes never felt fully comfortable and when the crucial moments arrived her forehand faltered badly.
She lost the lead surrendered the first set in a tiebreak 7-6(3) and then struggled in the second set falling 6-2. Potapova the world number 55 took full advantage and closed out the match in straight sets. This result marks Raducanu’s worst first-week loss by opponent ranking at a grand slam since her 2024 Australian Open return from an eight-month injury absence.
Last year Raducanu only lost to top-10 grand slam winners such as Elena Rybakina Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek. Dropping to a player ranked outside the top 50 highlights ongoing struggles this season.
Persistent forehand problems and injury impact
Raducanu’s off-season preparation was heavily disrupted by injury which limited her practice and prevented her from reaching peak form in January. Beyond that her forehand which showed strong improvement last year has regressed noticeably. She adopted a longer higher swing path this season and against Potapova it proved erratic failing to handle pace and often landing short.
She committed 19 forehand unforced errors across two sets compared with only six on the backhand. Raducanu admitted the change was unintentional stemming from work with coach Francisco Roig on specific shots while neglecting others. She described it as a drift that needs correction soon insisting it is not something she wants to maintain.
Her next tournament will be the WTA 250 event in Cluj Romania after some recovery time in Melbourne. The priority for Raducanu and Roig will be restoring confidence and effectiveness in her forehand to dictate points as she did successfully in the past.
Potapova advances despite challenges
Anastasia Potapova a talented ball-striker with a career-high ranking of 21 proved relentless in dominating rallies despite her one-dimensional style. The 24-year-old Russian-born player who won junior Wimbledon in 2016 has not always met early expectations but this victory shows her potential when focused.
She now faces world number one and two-time Melbourne champion Aryna Sabalenka in the third round. Potapova enters that match with a broken finger yet remains relaxed saying she has nothing to lose enjoys the occasion and will simply give her best. She also addressed recent controversy over her announcement of Austrian citizenship which copied wording from Daria Kasatkina’s earlier statement with minimal changes. Potapova defended it as perfect wording that suited her situation perfectly.
In other British news Arthur Fery’s impressive run ended with a 7-6(4) 6-1 6-3 defeat to Tomás Martin Etcheverry. The Briton reached the main draw through qualifying secured his first Melbourne win over 20th seed Flavio Cobolli but could not sustain momentum against the Argentine. Fery will rise to around 150 in the rankings from his current 185.
