JAKARTA - The journey of the British tennis star, Emma Raducanu, in the 2026 Australian Open Grand Slam tournament stopped early in the second round. He didn't perform optimally so he failed to hunt for the second Grand Slam title in his career.
The owner of the 2021 US Open title was forced to admit the superiority of the Russian-born Austrian representative, Anastasia Potapova, in the second round match which took place at Melbourne Park on Wednesday, January 21, 2026.
"I want to play in a different way. I think the mismatch between the way I play now and the way I want to play is something I want to improve," Raducanu said, as reported by BBC Sport.
Raducanu surrendered two sets straight 6-7 (3/7) and 6-2 from the world's 55th-ranked player. The defeat dashed tennis fans' hopes of witnessing Raducanu's fierce duel against world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the third round.
Appearing as the 28th seed, Raducanu actually led 5-3 in the first set. However, the inconsistency exacerbated by the condition of the fitness that was not in good condition made him lose momentum.
"There are moments where I play according to my wishes and it comes up occasionally, which is a positive thing, but that's not what I want to play consistently every day," said the 23-year-old.
The minor result in Melbourne extended Raducanu's unsatisfactory record at the start of the 2026 season. Previously, he was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Hobart International warm-up tournament against world number 204, Taylah Preston.
Raducanu stated that he would not immediately return to the practice court after a bad trend. He will choose to go home and make a total evaluation of his performance that has not returned to the peak level since winning the title in New York five years ago.
"I want to play in a different style. There is a mismatch between the way I play now and my desire. That's what I want to fix," he said.
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