Raducanu’s ‘most dispiriting’ Slam display – what went wrong?

When Grand Slam draws are made, we’re all guilty of plotting ahead.

It turns out we looked one round too far in the case of Emma Raducanu at the Australian Open.

A potential shot at top seed Aryna Sabalenka loomed in round three, but the British number one fell to a stinging defeat by Austria’s Anastasia Potapova on Wednesday.

Former US Open champion Raducanu was seeded 28th in Melbourne, but was completely out of sorts against 55th-ranked Potapova in a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 second-round loss.

“She has had far heavier defeats in Grand Slams before in terms of scoreline, but for me this was the most dispiriting performance of her Grand Slam career,” said BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller.

“She lacked confidence, lacked conviction and lost fight in the final few games.”

BBC Sport analyses the technical, mental and physical issues facing 23-year-old Raducanu – and whether there is another coaching change in the offing.

Raducanu made encouraging progress last year, climbing back into the world’s top 30 and playing more matches than in any previous season.

But this defeat means she has still only gone past the third round of a Grand Slam once since her stunning US Open triumph as a teenage qualifier in 2021.

Her preparations for the opening major of the season were disrupted. The off-season technical work she planned to put in with coach Francisco Roig – who helped Rafael Nadal win 16 of his 22 major titles – was compromised by a foot injury.

When Raducanu returned in 2026, a tweak to her forehand – a higher and longer takeback, designed to add more spin – was clear.

But she seemed to lack trust in the shot against Potapova, landing 70% of her forehand returns in – compared to 96% from her opponent – and making 19 unforced errors off that wing.

“I want to be playing a different way. The misalignment with how I’m playing right now and how I want to be playing is something I want to work on,” said Raducanu.

Mistakes came from all aspects of Raducanu’s game against Potapova, with the Briton saying afterwards she did not feel “very well” from the start.

It showed in a subdued performance. As well as seeming to lack trust in her shots, her mood was flat and rarely interacted with her support box or the crowd.

It is the first time since the 2022 US Open, when she was still 11th in the world, that Raducanu has been beaten by a lower-ranked player at a major.

“I just want to hit the ball to the corners and hard. I feel like I’m doing all this variety, and it’s not doing what I want it to do,” she added.

“I need to just work on playing in a way more similar to how I was playing when I was younger.”

Given Raducanu’s track record of hiring and firing coaches, there will be inevitable questions about Roig’s future – especially given she said she is not playing how she wants.

The comments have been interpreted by some as a challenge to his authority, with multiple sources close to the Raducanu camp telling BBC Sport there has been friction – mainly to do with the forehand.

“The analogy I have been using is that maybe it’s a little bit of ‘turbulence’,” added Fuller.

“Maybe that turbulence will pass and the captain will soon switch off the ‘fasten seatbelt’ sign, but there have been issues.”

Raducanu insists the pair, who began working together in August, are still aligned.

Asked by BBC Sport if they were still on the same page, she said: “I didn’t play how I wanted to play because I wasn’t hitting any shot particularly well. It’s tough to take an assessment when you’re completely off.

“Me and Francis have done some amazing work together in the past few months and I’ve improved so many different aspects of my game.

“I think it’s difficult to say we don’t agree.”

There was little conversation between the pair during her defeat by Potapova and fewer instructions from Roig than when he took up the role.

It was also noticeable when she was struggling early on against 197th-ranked Mananchaya Sawangkaew in the first round.

“I think I’ve just realised over time that the best way for me to deal with tricky situations is to find the answers from within,” Raducanu said.

“I feel like when I look over, and if I’m questioning something or asking, it’s bringing more negativity – whereas I know the answer inside really.

“I think I know what I’m doing. I just try and figure things out more on my own.”

Dan Kiernan, who coaches two-time US Open doubles champion Gaby Dabrowski, told BBC Radio 5 Live he interpreted the comments as a “dig” at Roig.

“That would tell me that relationship probably doesn’t have too much longer to go,” said the Briton.

“If I was to advise her what to do, I would say to go and do six months without a coach. I think she needs to go out there and learn what she needs.

“Go and play the game she wants to play, express herself how she wants to express herself, and make some mistakes herself without everyone over her.”

Raducanu understandably pointed to her lack of preparation as mitigation for the poor performance.

A bruised foot ended Raducanu’s 2025 season two months early and she did not start hitting again until 20 December – three weeks later than planned.

“On 1 January, when I came out here, I hadn’t moved from my half of the court,” Raducanu said.

“If you would have told me I would have played four or five matches in Australia, regardless of how they went, from a physical perspective it would have been pretty surprising.”

Raducanu arrived in Melbourne with just one win under her belt and off the back of a timid defeat by world number 204 Taylah Preston in Hobart.

While she improved to beat Sawangkaew in the Melbourne first round, she was undercooked against Potapova.

“I think with each one I did get better – except today,” Raducanu added.

Kiernan, though, saw a player through his coaching lens who does not “relish the battles”.

“I don’t know her and I have the utmost respect for her, but it does come across that there is a soft centre.

“When something isn’t quite going to plan, there seems to be a bit of excuse-making.

“That is part and parcel of something bigger that is going on, that she hasn’t quite settled in [to her career].”