Emma Raducanu schedule change after match suspension and ‘withdrawal’ | Tennis | Sport

Emma Raducanu reportedly has a chance of reaching the Hobart International quarter-finals by winning her suspended first-round match. The British No.1 led 6-3, 2-4 against Camila Osorio on Tuesday before rain suspended play in Tasmania.

They will resume their match on Wednesday, when the winner is due to play Magdalena Frech, who won 6-4, 6-0 against Elsa Jacquemot before the rain came, but required medical attention during the break between sets. It is now being widely reported in Frech’s native Poland that she has withdrawn from the tournament to rest before the Australian Open begins on Sunday.

Her withdrawal would give Osorio or Raducanu a bye in the second round, putting them into the WTA 250 tournament’s quarter-finals. Reaching that stage of the competition also guarantees a player £3,483 in prize money, which would be a welcome boost for Raducanu, the top seed in the tournament, if she holds on to beat her Colombian opponent.

Frech’s withdrawal, which has not yet been confirmed, also means that Raducanu will avoid having to play twice in one day if she beats Osorio when their match resumes on Wednesday morning local time.

The world No.29 has yet to win this year after losing her first match of 2026 to Maria Sakkari of Greece at the United Cup in Perth. Raducanu was due to play Naomi Osaka the day before, but withdrew. Defeat to Sakkari was her first match since October, having pulled out of exhibition matches due to a minor foot issue.

Her last win came against Cristina Bucsa at the China Open in late September. The then-world No. 5 Jessica Pegula beat her in the next round after Raducanu failed to convert three match points. She struggled in her next outing at the Wuhan Open, retiring after a medical timeout in her first-round match with Ann Li.

Another first-round exit followed at the Nigbo Open, twice calling on the trainer, but continuing to complete a three-set defeat to world No. 219 Zhu Lin. That third straight defeat came to be the last match of 2025 for Raducanu.

She repeatedly spoke of “stacking the good days” leading up to the United Cup. Raducanu said: “I’ve been putting in some good practices. Even if each practice isn’t as perfect as you want it to be, I think just the consistency of it is the most important thing. That’s what really helped me last year. So I just hope to carry that on and enjoy the tennis, enjoy the process of what I’m doing, which right now I am.”

Raducanu added: “I would say I’m most proud of, especially in the last year, just stacking good days consistently. I’ve been doing that a lot more and can see the benefits of that. I think physically, I also improved. I became fitter, so I was able to play more matches and more tournaments on the road. That just gives us more opportunities to get some points here and there and also have good weeks when you’re in a good run of momentum to kind of carry that through three, four, five matches. So yeah, that was a really good benefit for me as well.

“I think also, just my approach to playing. I’ve been a lot better, a lot more composed, but at the same time, enjoying it a lot more again. That’s been a big win for me.”

Looking to 2026, she said: “I think it’s easy to think ahead about results, but the days are passing so quickly when you’re focused on your own session and the things that you can control. I think I have good people around me as well now, so it makes things easier. It makes the days go by in a really fun, enjoyable way, but at the same time, putting in a lot of good work. So yeah, hoping to stay consistent for 2026.”