Emma Raducanu: British No.1 battles back in Hobart to win her first match since September, beating Camila Osorio | Tennis news
Emma Raducanu claimed her first victory since September after fighting back to beat Camila Osorio in straight sets in the first round of the Hobart International.
The British No. 1, the tournament’s top seed, was trailing 4-2 and tied on her own serve in the second set against the Colombian wild card when rain forced a stoppage on Tuesday.
However, Raducanu came back the next day to win the second set in a tie-break and prevail 6-3 7-6 (7-2), having beaten the Colombian while serving for the set at 5-4, and will now face Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the second round in Tasmania.
The 23-year-old lost her first match of 2026 earlier this month, beaten by Greece’s Maria Sakkari while representing Great Britain at the United Cup, a mixed team event.
Raducanu ended her 2025 campaign in October after suffering an illness in China, while she was hampered by a foot injury during pre-season and missed a scheduled singles match against Naomi Osaka at the United Cup before returning against Sakkari.
Raducanu: This victory means a lot
Speaking after his victory against world number 82 Osorio, Raducanu said: “Those mean so much more. There’s such a fine line between winning and losing a match like that.
“It can easily affect your whole mood, your whole days, your whole weeks. I try not to let that happen but it’s very difficult. It’s a very good day to take stock.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Raducanu’s match with Osorio was suspended on Tuesday due to heavy rain, with the Briton set up but trailing 4-2 in the second.
“It was a very, very difficult match. We played in all conditions and coming in, coming out several times, it was really difficult.
“I’m really happy with how I managed to turn things around and then stay present in the tie-break.”
Raducanu will be the 28th seed in the women’s singles at the Australian Open, which runs from January 18 to February 1.
The Briton reached the third round in Melbourne last year before losing 6-1 6-0 to current world number 2 Iga Swiatek.
Brits eye Australian Open main draw – as Austrian Ofner suffers epic setback
Meanwhile, in Australian Open qualifying, Britain’s Arthur Fery and George Loffhagen are each one win away from making their main draw debut.
Fery beat former top 20 player Bernard Tomic 6-4 6-2 in just over an hour and will now face Croatian Dino Prizmic for a place in the tournament proper.
Britain’s Arthur Fery is one win away from the Australian Open main draw
Loffhagen will face American Nishesh Basavareddy after his second-round opponent, Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, withdrew due to injury while trailing 6-3 3-1.
Basavareddy beat Sebastian Ofner in bizarre fashion, following a tiebreak in the final set after the Austrian prematurely celebrated his victory shortly earlier.
Ofner thought he had won after going up 7-1, forgetting that in Grand Slam tournaments tie-breaks are extended to 10 points, and was then eliminated 4-6 6-4 7-6 (13-11) before Basavareddy mimed a choking gesture.
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours live on Sky Sports. Stream tennis, football, cricket, NFL and more contract-free with NOW.
