Emma Raducanu’s first WTA match of the year ends in frustrating rain delay

Hello and welcome to coverage of Emma Raducanu’s first WTA match of the season. The British No 1 is building up towards the Australian Open, which begins on Sunday by playing at the Hobart International. She is the top seed and arguably the favourite to win the tournament, which would be her first since the 2021 US Open. Fellow grand slam winners Venus Williams and Barbora Krejcikova were also in the draw but were knocked out in round one. 

Today, Raducanu faces Colombia’s Camila Osorio in their second career meeting. “I’m really grateful to be here in Hobart and to see Tasmania. I’m just happy to be here,” Raducanu said.

“It’s somewhere I didn’t think I’d get the opportunity to go if it wasn’t for tennis, so I’m really happy that it has brought me here.

“So far, I’ve been practising pretty well,” Raducanu said. “I started my preseason pretty late, so for me it’s all about sharpening up and tuning up as much as I can. I hope this week can be a good one for that.

“The wind is quite strong here, so getting used to that is a big thing,” she said.

“It’s a lot of adapting and improvising. You probably have to accept that you’re not going to feel like you’re hitting the ball amazingly all the time. It’s all part of the skill set you need to play in all types of conditions. It’ll be a good test and challenge.”

Last week, Raducanu was beaten by Greece’s Maria Sakkari ⁠at the United Cup and is seeking full fitness after a foot injury late last year. “It’s been a good two and a bit months where I didn’t play,” she ⁠said. “It’s ‌been difficult to kind ‍of increase the load and add the unpredictability of the tennis. “I know now I ⁠just need to get my head ‍down, keep working.”