Emma Raducanu completed a perfect opening day of the Australian Open for the British contingent, her late-night victory over Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew making it three wins from three.
First on court was 23-year-old qualifier Arthur Fery, who scored a (stomach) upset against a clearly unwell No20 seed Flavio Cobolli, then Cam Norrie won a highly typical five-set tussle with Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi.
And so to British No1 Raducanu, seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time in four years and feeling a little miffed at being scheduled in the graveyard shift.
On Saturday, she said it did not ‘make much sense’ to place her second on the Margaret Court night session, after a men’s match. There was the potential for an extremely late start but, fortunately for Raducanu, Alexander Bublik made quick work of Jenson Brooksby and she got underway at 9.40pm local time.
But, still, preparations for this opening round had not been ideal. A foot injury meant Raducanu had not been able to go flat out in pre-season until late December and she lost her only match at the United Cup. Then came Hobart, where she was the No1 seed but lost to Aussie Taylah Preston, who sits outside the top 200.
She only arrived in Melbourne on Friday but was thrown straight into action on the opening day, and in the early exchanges against Sawangkaew, it looked like this night might become one of those days.
Emma Raducanu beat Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew in her Australian Open first round
Raducanu made a terrible, wayward start, dragging ball after ball into the net. She looked lacklustre and hangdog, in contrast to the vibrant, bouncy opponent who was clearly loving being out there on her Grand Slam debut.
Sawangkaew led 3-1, 40-15 with two break points on the Raducanu serve. A 4-1 deficit with a double break would have felt close to insurmountable but Raducanu picked a good time to find her range and was comfortably the better player thereafter.
Sawangkaew at 23, the same age as Raducanu, is clearly a talent but her forehand backswing is long and rather complex. Raducanu was gradually able to break that wing down by firing the ball into her opponent, making her rush.
As the second set began Raducanu was playing some terrific stuff. Way out of court, she guessed the right way and chipped a backhand winner past Sawangkaew at the net – a feat of escapology of which Andy Murray would have been proud. The 6-4, 6-1 came thanks to a run of 11 games out of 13.
She may have already played three matches this season but this felt like the true start of 2026 for Raducanu and a good start it was. The British No1 told us in the off-season that she was still searching for her identity as a tennis player and the balance of controlled aggression which she struck here looks a good blueprint.
In the second round Raducanu will face a step up in class against world No55 Anastasia Potapova, playing under the Austrian flag for the first time at a Slam having defected from Russia.
