Australian Open 2026: Emma Raducanu loses to Anastasia Potapova in second round

While she improved to beat 197th-ranked Mananchaya Sawangkaew in the Melbourne first round, she looked undercooked against Potapova.

Russian-born Potapova also made a huge amount of errors in a poor-quality first set which started with five breaks of serve before Raducanu pulled away.

Raducanu served for the first set at 5-4 but was broken back by Potapova, who promptly pulled away with the tie-break.

After Potapova took a lengthy break at the end of the set, she made a fast start to the second and broke twice for a 3-0 lead.

The pair exchanged breaks before Potapova asserted her authority and cruised to victory, with a subdued Raducanu making a hasty exit.

Eyes had inevitably drawn towards the potential meeting with Sabalenka – but this loss was a sharp reminder of where Raducanu’s level remains.

Meanwhile, British qualifier Arthur Fery was also knocked out after a 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 6-3 loss to Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the men’s second round.