AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 21, 2026

Emma Raducanu

Press Conference

A. POTAPOVA/E. Raducanu

7-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Obviously was always going to be a tough opponent. What were some of the challenges of playing her today?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I thought it was a very difficult match with the conditions in the first set. I thought it was tricky trying to get used to how lively it felt out there. And also the wind was pretty strong from one side, so just not something that I felt, you know, too comfortable with. I didn't feel like I dealt with it particularly well.

Even so, I still had some chances in the first set, but yeah, nevertheless, just one of those days you don't feel too good on the court.

But credit to her. She found a better solution in the first set, and then really played better, I thought, in the second.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Emma, how much of a fight did you think it was just not having had the preparations and not having had the matches when you go out there and maybe playing conditions are a bit tricky?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I think it's a factor. I don't want to give myself too much of a hard time, because I know my preparation going into this tournament.

I kind of 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.

I think, you know, playing at different times is also another challenge. You know, playing at night compared to day, the conditions are very different. Yeah, just hadn't really played in these kind of conditions in a minute, so didn't deal with it very well today.

Q. Coming back to the kind of questions of technical stuff, are you thinking about technique at all when you're on the court? Is that a factor?

EMMA RADUCANU: I think when you're on the court, I'm not trying to think about any particular technique, because even if I feel a particular way about a certain shot, it's not the time to go into it. It's like, regardless of how you feel, you just have to try and buckle down and fight with what you have, whether it's good or bad. Just try and, you know, tough out any point, however it is.

But, of course, there are certain shots that you don't feel as comfortable with, and it's just emphasized in the heat of the day.

Q. You mentioned you had chances, and obviously you were up 5-3 in the first set. How did you feel at that point, and what changed towards the end of the set?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I mean, even if I was up 5-3, I didn't feel very good out there in terms of, like, I was hitting the ball good or anything.

I think it was a matter of, like, I put an extra ball in the court, and she did. She was definitely going for more. And I think in the second set, like, her shots were landing, and mine were missing by a few inches here and there.

Yeah, it was one of those you're 5-3 up, but you're not feeling particularly good, and you're trying to just, like, tough out every point however you can, scrap, but it's not the way that I want to really be playing.

But it got me in the lead. I just didn't feel like I could scrap the whole match.

Q. What's next for you after this? How are you going to recharge? Are you going to get straight back on the practice courts or have a bit of time off?

EMMA RADUCANU: I don't think I'm going to get straight back on the practice court. I think I'm going to, you know, take a few days, get back, get back home, and try and just re-evaluate my game a bit.

Right now I'm signed up to play in Cluj, so hopefully I make it there. That will be good to return to my dad's home country. I haven't been back in a few years, so that will be a nice opportunity if I get it.

Q. When you say re-evaluate your game, do you mean more than just today, like kind of in general?

EMMA RADUCANU: I think just, yeah, reassess, like, you know, the aspects of my game. Like kind of just watch it back, see where I can improve. Like, what I have been feeling and also what is visually apparent. So just combining those two, and working on the things.

I definitely want to feel, like, better on certain shots before I start playing again. So for me, that's more of a priority than getting straight back onto the match court.

Q. When things aren't going your way, there seems to be little interactions between you and Francis and the team, and you kind of seem to be keeping it all internal. Can you tell us a little bit about what is going through your mind in those tough moments in matches?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I think I've just realized over time that the best way for me to deal with tricky situations is to find the answers from within. I feel like when I look over and if I'm, like, questioning something or asking, it's more just, like, putting negativity, whereas I know the answer inside really.

So for me, that's just what seems to work the best rather than trying to search for answers. At the end of the day, I think I know what I'm doing, what's happening. So I just try and figure things out more on my own.

Q. When you go back to when you first landed in Australia for the United Cup to where you are now, how much progress do you think you've made in that time? If you told yourself, you know, 1st Jan that you would be at this point, is it still a positive for you?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I would say so. I would say 1st of Jan when I came out here, I hadn't moved, I hadn't even done a 2-cross, 1-line drill. I hadn't moved from my half of the court.

So if you would have told me I would have played, you know, four matches/five matches in Australia regardless of how they went, I think from a physical perspective, it would have been, you know, like, pretty surprising.

I think with each one I did get better, except today, but I think having to learn and having to get the feel through matches is something that's really difficult and not something that I really want to be doing. But, I mean, because it's a Grand Slam, you feel like you can't or you don't want to miss out.

So I don't regret the decision, because I got to come and play a slam here. Even if I wasn't very ready, I think I had a good three weeks Down Under on and off the court.

I just, yeah, need to take it for what it is, be pragmatic, and go back and keep working. The season is still quite long, so hopefully if I stay healthy, do the right things, then it will start falling into place.

Q. When you are talking about you're evaluating your game, do you feel like you're not playing the style of play you want to play? Is that what you're talking about?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I would say so. I think I want to be playing a different way, and I think the misalignment with how I'm playing right now and how I want to be playing is something that I just want to work on.

I think there are definitely pockets of me playing how I want to play, and it comes out in flashes, which is a positive, and maybe more than certain times in my career in the last few years. But it's not how I want to be, like, consistently every day.

So it's not going to fall into place straight away, but the more I work on how I want to be playing, it will be more of my identity every time I step onto the court.

So, yeah, I need to work at that, but it's not going to happen overnight.

Q. I'm curious about how your foot actually is, considering it seemed like it was quite a steep ramp-up from not moving to playing matches.

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah. Yeah, it's been a steep ramp-up. I've been managing it each day. It's not 100%, but I've made peace with that. It will be good to kind of get everything rechecked once this is -- well, now it's over -- and just see how it is and whether I need to offload it a little bit or not.

Physically I think I've actually improved in the last few weeks, even if I've been playing more and my load has gone up, which is a positive. Considering how it was going at the end of last year, I really didn't know if I was going to come to Australia. So to be feeling this way after five matches physically, it's a positive.

Q. That night in New York three years ago, if someone said that night your next 13 Grand Slams only once you're going to reach the second week, I think we would kind of be surprised. Is there something around the Grand Slams that you think you need to improve, maybe going into it, or is it just overall continue work?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I mean, I think if you also would have said when I was 18 if I would be winning that night, I don't think anyone would expect that either.

So I think with that achievement, you're inevitably going to have the same level of kind of low, you know. It was too high to kind of just be going on so early.

So I think I've accepted that, and you know, all the kind of challenges that I've faced since and figuring things out and learning by mistakes, learning through experiences, all of those things, I think were, in a way, going to happen when you win a slam at 18 from quallies, ranked 350 in the world two months before.

I've learnt a lot, for sure. I think there are just many iterations that are going on and have gone on. I think I'm slowly figuring out what works for me, and at the slams I think I'm doing better. A few times I've had really tough draws as well, last year.

Yeah, I think just doing the day-to-day and improving myself as a player, which I think I'm doing, but yeah, my form those three weeks was unbelievable, as well. It's a give-and-take, but I've accepted it.

Q. Just on what you were saying a moment ago about where you want to be playing, I just wondered how you would describe, like, the style of tennis that you want to be playing and how you describe the identity you are aiming to have as a tennis player.

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, I just want to hit the ball, like, to the corners and hard. I feel like I'm doing all this variety, and it's not, like, doing what I want it to do (smiling). I need to just work on, you know, playing in a way more similar to how I was playing when I was younger.

I always just changed direction, took the ball early, and went for it. I think I do have the ability to do many things on the court, but I feel like as I'm learning all those skills, it's like I need to stick to my guns a bit as well and work on that.

For me, it's pretty simple.