Raducanu Earns First Win Of Season Ahead Australian Open

Emma Raducanu earned her first victory since September after fighting back to beat Camila Osorio in straight sets in the first round of the Hobart International.

The British No 1, the top seed for this tournament, had been 4-2 down and at deuce on her own serve in the second set against the Colombian wild card.

Raducanu had lost her first match of 2026 earlier this month, beaten by Greece’s Maria Sakkari while representing Great Britain at the United Cup, a mixed-gender team event.

She ended her 2025 campaign in October after suffering from illness in China, while she had been bothered by a foot injury during pre-season and sat out a scheduled singles match versus Naomi Osaka at the United Cup before returning against Sakkari.

Raducanu was delighted to earn her first win of the season as attention turned towards the 2026 Australian Open.

She said: “These ones mean so much more. It’s such a fine line between winning and losing a match like that.

“It can easily affect your whole mood, your whole days, your whole weeks. I try not to let that happen but it’s very difficult. This is a very good day to stack up.

“It was a very difficult match. We played under all conditions and coming on, coming off a few times, it was really difficult. I’m just really pleased with how I came out and turned it around and then stuck in during the tie-break.”

Raducanu will be the 28th seed in the women’s singles at the Australian Open, which runs from January 18 to February 1.

She reached the third round in Melbourne last year before losing 6-1 6-0 to current world No 2 Iga Swiatek.