"The season is still very young”: Emma Raducanu stays upbeat after United Cup loss

Emma Raducanu took positives from her opening match of the season despite a loss to Maria Sakkari at the United Cup. The world No. 29 returned to competition for the first time since October at the Ningbo Open, while the Greek capitalised on the opportunity to secure the win after four consecutive defeats to Raducanu.

The Brit had struggled physically during the Asian swing, including a retirement in Wuhan when she was trailing American Ann Li in the first round (6-1, 4-1, ret.). Raducanu came into the match holding a 4–0 head-to-head advantage over Sakkari, but that record was not enough to prevail in Perth.

Former world No. 10 Raducanu had initially withdrawn from Great Britain’s United Cup opener, where she was expected to face four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka. Instead, Katie Swan (No. 270) took the court and was defeated in straight sets.

This time, however, team captain Tim Henman surprised by sending Raducanu onto the court. The two-hour and 27-minute battle saw the former US Open champion fight hard through the opening two sets, but Sakkari took control late, winning five consecutive games and claiming 18 of the final 20 points.

“I started hitting two weeks ago, so it's been a good two and a bit months where I didn't play,” Raducanu said. “I think today, being able to produce that, having not played, is just giving me confidence to what I can do when I do practise more. I know now I just need to get my head down, keep working.”

“Today was good exposure. Happy I spent two and a half hours out there and I'm OK right now,” she added. “The season is still very, very young. Week one. There's a long way to go.”

Greece booked their place in the United Cup quarterfinals thanks to wins from Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari. Tsitsipas edged past Billy Harris (4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4)) before Sakkari defeated Raducanu (6-3, 3-6, 6-1). Greece advanced with five wins from five matches, with Sakkari emerging as the standout performer so far, having beaten two Grand Slam champions — and higher-ranked opponents — in Naomi Osaka (No. 16) and Raducanu (No. 29).

The victory over Raducanu was particularly special for Sakkari, who had previously held a 0–4 record against the Brit. That run included their 2021 US Open semifinal — where Raducanu went on to win the title — and more recently the quarterfinals of the DC Open.

“I've had four tough losses against her, so to get that first win against her, against a great opponent, it means a lot, especially delivering for Team Greece,” Sakkari said in her on-court interview. “Especially after the season I had last year, I came into this tournament with low expectations after a great pre-season, but at the same time I just felt, ‘Let’s see what I can do. Let’s see how I can deliver the things that I worked on.’”

Greece will now face a tough quarterfinal clash against Switzerland, who topped their group with wins over Italy and France. The tie will be played on January 7, with Tsitsipas set to face three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, while Sakkari will take on former Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic.