What went wrong for Raducanu in Melbourne?

We are all guilty of plotting ahead when Grand Slam draws are held.

Turns out Emma Raducanu’s performance at the Australian Open went one over the mark.

In round three, Aryna Sabalenka had a chance to win the title, but Austria’s Anastasia Potapova suffered a crushing defeat on Wednesday.

In a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 second-round defeat to Potapova, who was seeded 28th, Raducanu was completely out of sorts.

Raducanu made encouraging progress last year, placing her back in the top 30 in the world and winning more matches than she had in any other career season.

However, a foot injury prevented the technical work she had planned for the off-season with Rafael Nadal, who helped him win 16 of his 22 major titles.

A higher and longer takeback, intended to give Raducanu more spin, was made clear when she returned in 2026.

But she didn’t seem to have any faith in the shot against Potapova, making 19 unforced errors off that wing and a 70% of her forehand returns in compared to her opponent’s 96%.

“I want to be playing in a different way. I want to work on the disconnect between how I’m playing right now and how I want to play, Raducanu said.

There are definitely areas where I play exactly how I want to, which is encouraging. However, I don’t want to be consistently that way.

Since her stunning US Open victory in 2021, Raducanu has only once advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam.

Last year, she won seven majors, but she lost to the world’s top athletes, including Iga Swiatek, Sabalenka, and Elena Rybakina, at Wimbledon and US Open.

For the first time since the 2022 US Open, when she was still 11th overall, Raducanu has been defeated by a lower-ranked player at a major.

All aspects of Raducanu’s match against Potapova were made mistakes. She hardly ever spoke to her support box or the crowd, and her mood and movement were uninspired.

Raducanu said, “I didn’t feel very well from the beginning.”

Some will undoubtedly be asking about Roig’s future given Raducanu’s history of hiring and firing coaches, especially given that she admitted she is not playing the way she wants to.

Raducanu insists that their relationship is still at odds with one another. They first started working together in August.

She responded to BBC Sport by asking if they were still playing the same way, saying, “I didn’t play how I wanted to because I wasn’t hitting any shots particularly well.” When you’re completely off, it’s difficult to take an assessment.

“Over the past few months, Me and Francis have done some amazing things for me, and I’ve seen improvements in so many different things about my game.

It was also noticeable when, in the opening round, she faced 197th-ranked Mananchaya Sawangkaew.

She said, “I think I’ve just come to the realization that the best way for me to deal with difficult situations is to find the solutions from within.”

“I feel like when I look over and ask questions, it brings more negativity, whereas I really know the answer,” I think.

Two months before Raducanu’s 2025 season, a bruised foot caused her to stop hitting until December 20 – three weeks later than planned due to a broken foot.

Raducanu remarked conceitedly that her lack of preparation contributed to her subpar performance.

“I hadn’t moved from my half of the court on January 1,” Raducanu said.

“From a physical standpoint, it would have been pretty surprising if you would have told me I would have played four or five matches in Australia, regardless of how they ended,” I said.

With just one win to her name, Raducanu escaped the clutches of world number 204 Taylah Preston in Hobart.

She improved to beat Sawangkaew in the first round of Melbourne, but Potapova was unworthy of her efforts.

“With each one, at least until today,” Raducanu continued.

“I don’t really want to be doing anything, but I find it really difficult to learn and feel through matches.”