"To me, it doesn’t really make as much sense": Emma Raducanu swipes at Australian Open scheduling with late night finish likely

Emma Raducanu admitted she faces a “very difficult” challenge to kick-start her 2026 Australian Open campaign after arriving in Melbourne just days before the tournament and being scheduled for a late Sunday night start.

The former US Open champion only landed in Melbourne at the weekend and will play her opening-round match second on the night session, following a men’s match that could potentially stretch deep into the evening. “I just arrived in Melbourne, so it’s pretty much my first day here,” Raducanu said pre tournament. “Not much time, but I’m looking forward to it. Obviously it’s a Slam, the first one of the year. Seeing everyone again is exciting. You get all the different emotions, and I’m just happy to be here.”

The tight turnaround has left Raducanu with limited preparation time on site, something she acknowledged was far from ideal. “It’s very difficult,” she said. “You would love to have more time in the environment, more time practising, but I guess I was pretty much handed this schedule to try and turn it around and make the most out of what is in front of me.

“It’s easy to get down and complain about it, but it’s not going to help. So I’m just trying to focus and turn it around for tomorrow.”

Raducanu revealed she had yet to practise on the Melbourne courts earlier in the day, instead adjusting her routine to mirror the late-night conditions she expects in her opening match.

“I haven’t hit this morning. I’m hitting at 9 p.m. tonight because I saw our second night match, so I need to try and adjust my day to that time,” she explained. “I’ll give it a go later and see.”

While she opted not to compete in Hobart last week, Raducanu noted that conditions can vary significantly across Australia — and even within the same day in Melbourne.

“The conditions in Hobart were quite cold and windy,” she said. “There’s a bit of wind here, but I think it’s a bit warmer. However, the time I’m playing, it might not be that warm. The conditions here can also change multiple times in a day, so it depends on the day.”

Asked about being scheduled after a men’s match that could potentially go five sets, Raducanu was candid about her initial reaction.

“I think it’s very difficult to be scheduling women’s matches after a potential five-set match,” she said. “To me, it doesn’t really make as much sense.

“But after seeing it, the initial reaction is probably like, pfft, it’s a late one. Then you deal with it and you try and shift your day and adjust.”

“So for me, it’s a new experience, something that I need to learn to do. Hopefully if I’m playing this game for a long time, I’ll probably be in this situation again, so it’s a good learning step to try and adjust and deal with that day, as well.”

The 23-year-old admitted the situation is largely unfamiliar territory, having only played late-night second-on matches on rare occasions.

“I’ve only really been in that situation once before, maybe when I played the semi-finals of the US Open,” she said. “Other than that, I haven’t played that late. So for me, it’s a new experience, something that I need to learn to do.”

Raducanu arrives in Melbourne in a very different position compared to 12 months ago, having ended the 2025 season early due to a foot injury that disrupted her off-season preparation.

“The end of 2025 was difficult because I was hampered by a foot injury,” she said. “That’s taken some time to recover from, and I didn’t really get to have a pre-season. I started training very, very late tennis-wise.”

As a result, she is determined to keep expectations in check as she continues her return to full fitness.

“I need to take the pressure off myself and not expect to be playing amazing tennis,” Raducanu said. “I’m basically in week four of my return to play. It’s not much at all.

“I just want to keep putting in the right steps that I know are going to take me to where I want to go in the future — whether that comes this week, tomorrow, or in a couple of weeks. I know it will inevitably.”

Raducanu also acknowledged the dangers of her opening-round opponent, who arrives with momentum from a strong run on the ITF circuit.

“Playing a lot of matches and getting a lot of wins does so much,” she said. “I experienced that first-hand in 2021. You feel very sharp. It’s a very dangerous opponent, especially when there’s not much data or information about them. There’s an element of surprise.”

Despite the challenges — limited preparation, late-night scheduling and a lack of match rhythm — Raducanu remains focused on controlling what she can as her Australian Open journey begins.

“I’m very aware of the first-round match,” she said. “I just need to practise and do my best to be ready.”