Emma Raducanu faced yet another early exit at the 2026 Australian Open on Wednesday, January 21. However, it was what she said after the match that prompted former player Andy Roddick to call her out.
After defeating Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1 in the first round in Melbourne, 28th seed Raducanu lost 7-6(3), 6-2 to World No. 55 Anastasia Potapova in the Round of 64. In the post-match press conference, the Brit said she was pleased with her performance and was leaving with her head held high.
Roddick was unimpressed with the statement, saying he wanted the former Grand Slam champion to show more hunger and not be satisfied easily. The 2021 US Open title remains the only singles title in Emma Raducanu’s cabinet.
Speaking on his ‘Served with Andy Roddick’ podcast, the 2003 US Open winner said (4:40):
“I love Raducanu. I think she’s wildly intelligent. Her game is obviously fantastic. I read some stuff sometimes where it’s like, ‘I played great in the second round’ and I’m like, ‘Man, I don’t want you to be okay with it.’ I think I read something this offseason where she’s like, ‘I want to play a little less this year.’ Play less? You’re a Grand Slam champion who’s #30 in the world. You’ve got to play more. I want her to want to play more.”
“When you have an off-season to train, and you’ve taken that off-season, you should be coming in pretty healthy. Obviously, we can’t control all of the factors involved. So, I don’t know what I don’t know. But yeah, I saw that from Emma. She’s like, ‘I want to play less this year.’ Earth wants you to play more, right? You haven’t played a full season. It’s been five years since the US Open,” he added.
What Did Emma Raducanu Say After Her R2 Loss At Australian Open 2026?
Injuries cut short Emma Raducanu’s 2025 season, and it seems that the World No. 29 has yet to regain full fitness.
She failed to capitalize on a 5-3 lead in the first set against Anastasia Potapova in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday. Yet, Raducanu, who lost in straight sets, found ‘positives.’ At the same press conference, she said:
“I don’t want to give myself too much of a hard time because I know my preparation going into this tournament. I have to leave with my head held high because of the matches I’ve had here. I didn’t even know at the beginning if I would be coming to Australia, so it’s a positive in that sense.”
“If you had told me I would have played, you know, four or five matches in Australia regardless of how they went, from a physical perspective, it would have been pretty surprising,” she added.
The former World No. 10 will next be in action at the WTA 250 Transylvania Open in Romania, beginning February 1.
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