Why Raducanu v Osaka whets the appetite for 2026

Emma Raducanu describes Naomi Osaka as “pure speed”, while the Japanese star said earlier this year that the British player has “a royal air around her”.

Theirs is a mighty rivalry in waiting, barely off the ground but rich in potential, and for just the second time in their careers they are set to play each other.

It should happen at their first tournament of 2026, the United Cup team event in Australia.

Raducanu and Osaka both achieved huge success at a young age, and finding a way back to Grand Slam-winning level has not been easy for either player.

There were flickers of elite form in 2025, but the coming year feels huge for these big personalities of the WTA Tour.

Both have new coaches – Francisco Roig for Raducanu and Tomasz Wiktorowski for Osaka.

Roig and Wiktorowski previously worked with Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek respectively, and Raducanu has already been stepping up her serving under new tutelage, while Osaka is finding a cleaner hit and showing patience.

The curve is trending upwards after ranking rises in 2025, with Osaka at 16th on the WTA list after a run to the US Open semi-finals, and Raducanu 29th and back to being British number one.

They are firmly top 10 in terms of name recognition and intend to reach that status in the rankings again.

To that end, the signs are positive, given both began this year outside the top 50.

Osaka, 28, is a four-time Slam winner, while Raducanu, who recently turned 23, stunned the sporting world in 2021 when she triumphed at the US Open as a qualifier.

It was long past high time for a meeting of the pair when they finally went head to head at the Washington Open in July.

Raducanu was dominant that day against the former world number one, winning 6-4 6-2 for one of her best results of the year.

Before that match, Osaka said of Raducanu: “For me, she’s, like, the queen, like there’s a royal air around her.

“I feel like whenever I see her or Serena, the kid in me comes out, because they were my favourite players to watch.”

It emerged in that week that the pair were effectively strangers to each other on a personal level, having never had a conversation.

On the court, Raducanu’s game was doing plenty of talking.

“I watched her in Wimbledon, but I think it is different playing someone in real life than playing them or seeing them on TV,” Osaka said after her defeat.

“It was really good to get the experience, to feel how her ball is. Hopefully I can play her again one day.”

Raducanu’s verdict was one of great satisfaction, as she said: “I quite like these kind of match-ups where you’re playing a great opponent, a lot of people have eyes on the match, they’re into it. I’m pleased with how I was able to navigate playing a four-time Slam champ.”

Tennis has made both players wealthy and famous, but they have – perhaps more than most in the sport – suffered away from the court.

The event is a mixed-gender national team competition, running from 2-11 January.

Raducanu joins Jack Draper in the Great Britain squad, with Mimi Xu and Billy Harris also travelling as singles players, while Lloyd Glasspool and Olivia Nicholls feature as doubles specialists.

Defending champions the United States are led by Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz.