AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 18, 2026

Emma Raducanu

Press Conference

E. RADUCANU/M. Sawangkaew

6-4, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: We'll get straight into questions for Emma.

Q. Did you manage to locate your super fan? Is Radu your new nickname now?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, apparently Down Under I've got Radu. Never heard that before. Pretty original.

Obviously I loved the support. I thought it was great on both sides. To have that on my side, really, in the big moments, it was a good spur of encouragement. I said, of course, he can come to any match. I just need to try to locate him. Yeah, I hope he comes back.

Q. You were complimentary of your opponent. Were nerves a factor at the start?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I actually didn't feel particularly bad in terms of doing much wrong. I thought she was serving incredibly well, better than I probably expected going on to the court. Hitting all the spots, very high first-serve percentage. Returns were dropping very deep on the line a couple times early on.

That puts a lot of pressure on straightaway. Maybe I made a few errors thinking I had to do a bit too much early on. I was still looking for forehand, doing the right things. I didn't think I was particularly tense.

I was just very happy with how I kept competing. It was a really important game at 2-4 to hold, having saved a couple break points at 15-40. After that I think it was a combination of me finding my feet, my movement, dominating a bit more, and also a few errors from her. Both of that helped. I ended up having a pretty good run of games.

Q. You were pretty vocal today in terms of fist pumping and cheering yourself on. In a situation like that, after being down early on, a player you're not familiar with, how helpful was that to bring your energy up?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I think it's very important. I think when you're playing a first round, you're inevitably nervous. It's a slam, big match. Your opponent is playing very well. I think to keep the energy high, it's late at night, to keep the energy high, to keep motivation. I think it was good for me to just stay positive, stay upbeat. It helped express to let the shots go, be a bit more fluid.

I think it did help me. I think when I'm at my best competing, I'm not completely quiet. It depends on the day. Today I felt like that would help me.

Q. Talking a lot about shots and swings in the previous press conference. Our readers don't really understand. Do you feel like you kind of had everything under control on a technical level?

EMMA RADUCANU: I felt pretty good out there. I think it was good playing at night. A bit more time, so I think in the day it is a bit different. I think ball's just a bit faster during the day.

Today overall in all my shots, I felt like I had better control than I did in the last few weeks. But the last few weeks' matches and points, everything I've been doing on the court, has really helped to be in the situation I am in today.

If had I not played those three matches, despite how they went, I don't know if I would have gotten through today. I'm happy I put myself in those situations.

Q. On the matches you've had, not been as much as you want, how important is it to show yourself maybe you didn't have the pre-season you wanted you can still dig yourself out of the positions you were in, take control?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I mean, for me I'm really proud of myself because I came out here having not played any practice points. My match with Sakkari was pretty much the first practice that I played, which is pretty unheard of.

I think having gone through that and having only had two weeks out here of playing and finding my feet, I'm happy with the level and happy with the speed at how I've kind of found my feet on the match court. It gives me confidence that if I keep doing the right things, actually I'm able to put chunks of work in, good blocks of practice, I can improve a lot more.

Q. Given that, how helpful is it to have two days before your next match?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I'm really happy to have two days, especially playing so late. 'Cause tonight to wind down after a late match, that's one side that maybe the viewers and spectators don't understand. By the time we finish with our routines afterward, cool down, the adrenaline is so high, to switch off is very difficult.

I'm really excited to have two days off. Given the quick turnaround from Hobart, I think my body will appreciate it.

Q. When you hear the crowd say like you're in control here, bits of advice, how do you handle that, shut that out?

EMMA RADUCANU: I think, like, sometimes what they say ends up being a pretty good point. I'm like, Fair play. Use your forehand, use your serve. It's a good reminder (laughter). Sometimes the timing could be worked on and coordinated. Maybe I'll have a word with him before the next match.

I think it depends. Obviously you can't let it distract you. Sometimes you'll hear something and you'll feel yourself maybe getting a little bit flat for two, three points. You hear that, it kind of wakes you up.

It depends what they are saying obviously. But the guy today, I really enjoyed it.

Q. Is it fair to say you're not a night owl normally?

EMMA RADUCANU: I flip. I mean, I'm a night owl, but not like to play. I'm a night owl to do other things, have Emma time (smiling).

I've been trying to train myself to be better in the night. Like the last night I practiced late, and it's good to feel the day. That's half the battle for me, to be honest, is how to arrange the day, when to switch on, when to switch off. I've gone through a few trials of what works, what doesn't work.

Today I actually felt really good before the match. It helped that the match before, it didn't take very long. I wasn't on too late.

Q. How much time did you give yourself to walk around Melbourne before switching into match mode?

EMMA RADUCANU: Yeah, I had a very chill breakfast, then walked around for 45 minutes, walked back, treatment, chat with the team, then just took a nap and came in. I came in at 5:30, started with my routines, practiced at 6.

It was actually interesting 'cause we practiced at 6 today, and it was still very hot and bright outside. It was very different conditions to last night and the match I was playing. Nevertheless, I think yesterday's practice helped a lot.

Q. Different match next against Potapova. I don't think you have played her before, is that right? But somebody who has been very highly ranked, what to expect from that one?

EMMA RADUCANU: She's been very high ranked. I remember watching Anastasia all through juniors, number one Tennis Europe juniors, ITF. I was the year below her.

She was always the player to watch and beat through juniors. She's been very high ranked as well in the pros. She got a really tough match today so that must give her a lot of confidence. A big hitter. I know it's going to be a really tricky one. I need to just gather my strength and prepare as best as possible for the next match.

Q. There's boxes for the support team on the court. Do you like having them that close?

EMMA RADUCANU: It's nice, yeah. I mean, it makes the court feel a little bit less big, because sometimes those big stadiums they feel very big. I think here the first row is quite high up compared to maybe some other tournaments, other slams, where the first row is court level.

It's nice to have some people around so you don't necessarily feel like you're just being watched on from on top. But I think it's really good to have them so close. You can actually hear what they're saying, too. That's the other thing with big arenas, sometimes you can't hear them. Through the crowd, distance, it's very difficult.

I think when I needed it, I looked for encouragement. Otherwise I tried to lock in and find the answers from within.