Emma Raducanu Sails Through Australian Open First Round

British number one Emma Raducanu overcame a shaky start to sail past Thailand's Mananchaya Sawangkaew and reach the second round at the Australian Open. Seeded at a major for the first time since the 2022 US Open, Raducanu looked sluggish as she dropped serve early on against the world number 196. But the former US Open champion eventually found her rhythm on Margaret Court Arena, reeling off seven games in a row on her way to a 6-4 6-1 victory. "I feel very happy to have got through the match. From the beginning I thought she was playing extremely well," 28th seed Raducanu said. "I'm really proud how I fought back in the first set." The 23-year-old will face Austrian Anastasia Potapova next, with world number one Aryna Sabalenka potentially lying in wait in the third round. Raducanu made encouraging progress in 2025, climbing back into the world's top 30 and playing more matches than in any previous season of her career. However, 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 hampered by a foot injury. She arrived in Melbourne with just one win under her belt and, in her last game before the first major of the year, she fell to a chastening defeat by world number 204 Taylah Preston in Hobart. It briefly looked like another upset could be on the cards for Raducanu as Sawangkaew - making her Grand Slam main draw debut - sparked to life in the opening few games, overwhelming Raducanu with aggressive returns and clever net play. She broke the Briton in the third game and had a chance for a 4-1 lead, but Raducanu replied with a handful of brilliant winners to avoid falling further behind. Raducanu's momentum gathered from there and she struck back to level the set at 4-4 before breaking again to take the opener. She continued to overpower the Thai player, hitting 17 winners to Sawangkaew's nine and winning 27 of the 40 points on offer in the second set - and she sealed victory in style with an ace. "She's playing some incredible tennis and way higher than her ranking currently, so I think she's going to do good things this year," Raducanu added.