Emma Raducanu suffered a chastening defeat to Iga Swiatek, falling victim to the second seed in a lopsided battle between former US Open champions during the third round of the Australian Open held at the iconic Rod Laver Arena. The match ended with a staggering scoreline of 6-1, 6-0, marking a significant challenge for Raducanu, who managed to win only a single game while losing 11 consecutive games in a row.
This defeat mirrored Raducanu’s earlier experience against Elena Rybakina at a WTA Tour event in Sydney three years prior, highlighting the difficulties she has encountered against top-tier opponents in recent times. The only other occasion Raducanu had faced the high-pressure environment of Melbourne Park’s main arena was during her match with Coco Gauff two years ago. On that occasion, she demonstrated commendable prowess; however, against Swiatek, the differences in skill were stark, with Swiatek showcasing her commanding presence on the court.
Raducanu entered this Grand Slam event without having any warm-up matches under her belt due to a back spasm that had previously hindered her performance. This issue flared up again during her second-round victory over Amanda Anisimova. While a third-round appearance—her best at this tournament—is not to be discounted as a failure, Raducanu acknowledged that improvements are essential if she hopes to compete effectively against the elite players in the circuit in the future. Her serve was identified as a primary area for development, given that she was broken 16 times across six sets and recorded an uncharacteristic 24 double faults.
Despite a slow start that led to a time violation issued against Swiatek, the Polish player quickly found her rhythm and dominated the match thereafter. The hot conditions in Melbourne seemed to amplify her powerful shots, leaving Raducanu struggling to keep pace. The Brit did manage to dig in during her opening serve, holding on briefly, but it was clear that once Swiatek discovered her momentum, the match turned decisively.
Raducanu’s backhand, often heralded as one of her strongest features, faltered under the pressure, leading to a feeling of urgency to end the match, which concluded in just 70 minutes. Swiatek has established herself as an exceptional frontrunner in matches, marking this defeat as her 26th recorded 6-0 set at a Grand Slam; in comparison, the current world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, has achieved this feat only nine times.
Despite the disappointing scoreline, Raducanu expressed pride in how she managed the occasion and displayed resilience in wanting to learn from the experience. Looking ahead, she is determined to quickly return to training, as her next tournament is scheduled to take place in Singapore in just over a week.
In the same bracket, former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina advanced to the last 16 following a solid 6-3, 6-4 victory over Dayana Yastremska, although she required treatment on her back during the match. The draw also saw progress from eighth seed Emma Navarro and ninth seed Daria Kasatkina, both moving forward in the competition. In a noteworthy turn, German player Eva Lys, who was a lucky loser, made history by becoming the first of her kind to reach the women’s fourth round of the Australian Open since 1988, after defeating Romanian Jaqueline Cristian with scores of 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, thus setting up a subsequent match against Swiatek.
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