“It’s all about adapting”: Emma Raducanu takes first-seed spot in Hobart Open for career milestone

Emma Raducanu is ready for her next challenge at the Hobart Open, a tournament where she will take on the role of top seed—an honour she will hold for the first time in her career following the withdrawal of Belgian defending champion Elise Mertens, who, like Raducanu, competed last week at the United Cup.

Mertens’ absence caused significant movement in the draw, and Raducanu was promoted to the No. 1 seeding position. The 2021 US Open champion will be the favourite to lift the title at a WTA-level tournament for the first time, making this one of the best opportunities of her career to claim a second professional trophy.

Even so, Raducanu is taking things step by step. Upon her arrival in Hobart, she acknowledged that she still needs a few days to adapt to the change in conditions after travelling from Perth earlier this week. “I need to get used to the conditions and the courts. In particular, the wind is quite strong here,” she said during her press conference.

“So, getting used to that, adjusting the game, probably accepting that you’re not going to feel like you’re hitting the ball amazingly because it’s a lot of adapting and improvising,” added the former world No. 10. “But it’s all part of the skill set that you need to play in all types of conditions, so I think it will also be a good test and challenge for that.”

Raducanu has already learned her path in the draw and is expected to make her tournament debut on Monday, 12 January, against Colombia’s Camila Osorio, a former world No. 33. The two have faced each other once before, at the 2022 DC Open, where the Brit prevailed 7–6(5), 7–6(4).

The 23-year-old experienced some physical issues at the start of the week at the United Cup and did not take the court for her scheduled match against four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka. Although a full withdrawal from the tournament was initially speculated, Raducanu returned to the courts two days later, suffering a loss to Maria Sakkari in the defeat against Greece that confirmed Great Britain’s elimination.

For Raducanu, beyond results, the main objective is to remain physically healthy and to collect wins that build confidence in her game. Over the past year, she appears to have found a stable working team after teaming up with Spain’s Francisco Roig in mid-2025, with whom she trained throughout the off-season in London. “So far, I’ve been practising pretty well. I started my preseason pretty late, so for me it’s all about sharpening up as much as I can.”

Raducanu’s main goal at the start of the season is to produce a strong showing at the Australian Open, where she will enter as the 29th seed, returning to a seeded position at a Grand Slam for the first time in four years. The Brit defends third-round points from 2025, when she defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova and Amanda Anisimova before falling to Iga Swiatek in the third round, winning just one game in the match.