Australian Open 2026: Emma Raducanu thinks her Melbourne schedule ‘makes no sense’

Raducanu is carefully planning his preparations for Sunday.

“When I saw it, my first reaction was ‘Oh, it’s too late,'” she said. “Then you deal with it, try to change your days and adjust.”

Raducanu did not train on Friday due to a delayed flight to Melbourne and postponed her only practice match at the Australian Open until 9pm on Saturday to accommodate late-night tennis conditions.

“When I played in the U.S. Open semifinals, I played the second night, but other than that, I haven’t played that late,” she said.

“So it’s a new experience that I need to learn to do.

“Hopefully if I play this game for a long time, I might be in that situation again, so it’s a good learning step to try to adjust and deal with that day.”

Raducanu made encouraging progress in 2025, rejoining the world’s top 30 and playing in more tournaments than in any previous season of her career.

However, the technical work she planned to do in the offseason with coach Francisco Roig (who helped Rafael Nadal win 16 of his 22 Grand Slam titles) was hampered by a foot injury.

The lack of practice has been evident in the four games Raducanu has played so far this year.

During Hobart’s upset loss to No. 204 Taylah Preston, she often looked uncertain with her shots and played passively, which put pressure on her opponent.

“I didn’t take the results of the last few weeks too seriously,” Raducanu told BBC Sport.

“I know I’m working towards that goal and even this week, I know I’m still on the road to where I want to be.

“I’m really happy with the last few weeks – I’ve been able to deal with it factually and not get too emotional.”