Tennis Australian Open Women's Singles -

Stunned Emma Raducanu wants to 'play a different way' after shock Australian Open defeat as she plans to 're-evaluate and reassess' her game

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British No. 1 Emma Raducanu said she wants "to be playing a different way" following her second-round Australian Open defeat to Anastasia Potapova. Raducanu won the US Open as a qualifier in 2021 but has plans to "reassess" her game after heading home from Melbourne. The 23-year-old has not won a title since her US Open victory and told TNT Sports' Tim Henman she "felt a bit off" against Potapova.

Highlights: Raducanu exits Australian Open with shock loss to Potapova

Video credit: TNT Sports

Emma Raducanu said she plans to "re-evaluate" her game following her second-round Australian Open exit and wants to return to playing as she did when she was younger.

British No. 1 Raducanu looked out of sorts as she was beaten in straight sets by world No. 55 Anastasia Potapova in Melbourne.

Raducanu made 28 unforced errors in the match and won just 46 per cent of points on her first serve.

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She said afterwards that she is not looking to get "straight back on the practice court" and instead is going to consider her approach on court.

"I think I'm going to take a few days, get back home, and try and just re-evaluate my game a bit," Raducanu said.

"I think just reassess the aspects of my game. Like kind of just watch it back, see where I can improve… what I have been feeling and also what is visually apparent. So just combining those two, and working on things.

"I definitely want to feel better on certain shots before I start playing again. So for me, that's more of a priority than getting straight back onto the match court."

Watch as Britain's Raducanu is knocked out in second-round shock

Video credit: TNT Sports

Raducanu took the tennis world by storm when she won the 2021 US Open as a qualifier without dropping a set.

But she hasn’t won a tournament since and has rarely been able to replicate the level she showed during that magical run.

"I think I want to be playing a different way," she added. "And I think the misalignment with how I'm playing right now and how I want to be playing is something that I just want to work on.

"I think there are definitely pockets of me playing how I want to play, and it comes out in flashes, which is a positive, and maybe more than certain times in my career in the last few years. But it's not how I want to be, like, consistently every day.

"So it's not going to fall into place straight away, but the more I work on how I want to be playing, it will be more of my identity every time I step onto the court.

"I need to work at that, but it's not going to happen overnight."

Raducanu has been coached by Francisco Roig, Rafael Nadal's former long-time coach, since last summer.

'Her preparation wasn't ideal' - Experts react to Raducanu crashing out

Video credit: TNT Sports

She had some positive results in 2025 as she moved back into the top 30 in the world rankings and returned to British No. 1.

However, she missed the last two months of the season due to injury and then saw her off-season plans disrupted by a foot issue.

She says she doesn’t regret the decision to play in Australia and is hopeful things will start "falling into place" this season.

"Even if I wasn't very ready, I think I had a good three weeks Down Under on and off the court," the Brit continued.

"I just need to take it for what it is, be pragmatic, and go back and keep working. The season is still quite long, so hopefully, if I stay healthy, do the right things, then it will start falling into place."

Since her shock US Open victory, Raducanu has only once made it past the third round of another Grand Slam.

'I want to play a different way' - Raducanu reacts after shock Australian Open exit

Video credit: SNTV

Asked what style of tennis she would like to play in the future, she added: "I mean, at the end of the day, 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. I need to just work on playing in a way more similar to how I was playing when I was younger.

"I always just changed direction, took the ball early, and went for it. I think I do have the ability to do many things on the court, but I feel like as I'm learning all those skills, it's like I need to stick to my guns a bit as well and work on that."

'I wasn't feeling good out there'

Raducanu's preparation for the Australian Open had seen her play once at the United Cup, losing to Greece's Maria Sakkari, and then make the quarter-finals in Hobart.

She had a quick turnaround from Hobart to Melbourne, with a delayed flight reducing her practice time at the Grand Slam.

She told TNT Sports' Tim Henman that she felt "a bit off" against Potapova.

"It was a really difficult match," Raducanu said. "First set I had some chances, but I felt like conditions were really difficult and it was super lively and quite windy.

"I was just adjusting after not having played in those conditions and in the second set I wasn’t feeling good at all out there. In terms of not feeling yourself, it was just one of those days where I didn’t feel good.

Raducanu admits she 'wasn't feeling good at all' in early defeat

Video credit: TNT Sports

"I just felt a bit off today. You have those days when you don’t feel good on the ball and on the court, you feel a bit out of body, and that's just one of those days today."

She added: "I think to be in Australia has to be a positive. I didn’t know if I would be flying out here, so to have a few matches to start the season is something I wasn’t expecting.

"I have to take what I can from that and it’s helped me work my way into the season. Not feeling great to start, but with each one feeling a bit better except for today."

Raducanu could next play at a WTA 250 event in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, at the beginning of February.

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