US Open champion Emma Raducanu has become the first high-profile player to publicly question the Australian Open's match scheduling, raising concerns even before the 2026 tournament has officially begun.
A Late-Night Debut on the Grand Slam Stage
The 28th seed is set to begin her campaign on Sunday night against world number 195, Mananchaya Sawangkaew from Thailand. Her match will follow a potentially lengthy men's encounter between tenth seed Alexander Bublik and world number 48 Jenson Brooksby.
In a best-case scenario, Raducanu and Sawangkaew may not take to the court until 9:30pm at the earliest, with a strong possibility of an even later start time.
"I think it's very difficult to be scheduling women's matches after a potential five-set match," Raducanu stated. "To me, it doesn't really make as much sense."
An Unfamiliar Challenge for the British Star
Raducanu admitted her initial reaction was surprise at the late slot, but said she is adapting her routine to cope. "After seeing it, the initial reaction is probably like 'it's a late one'. And then you deal with it and you try and shift your day and adjust," she explained.
She revealed she has only faced a similar situation once before in her career—during the 2021 US Open semi-finals on her path to that historic title—and even then, it followed another women's match.
"So for me it's a new experience, something that I need to learn to do," Raducanu said. "Hopefully if I'm playing this game for a long time, I'll probably be in this situation again, so it's a good learning step."
Tournament Context and Raducanu's Form
The scheduling practice of placing women's matches after men's in the night session was common in the early stages of last year's tournament. Organisers avoided major delays in 2025, as no men's matches extended to five sets during those sessions. Notably, the schedule for Monday this week reverses the order, with women playing before men in both stadium night sessions.
Raducanu arrives in Melbourne with limited preparation time, having only landed on Saturday after competing in Hobart. She hopes match play will compensate for a lack of practice at the venue.
Her recent form includes a loss to Australian world number 204 Taylah Preston in Tasmania and a defeat by then-world number 219 Lin Zhu in China late last year. Despite these results, Raducanu remains focused on the bigger picture.
"I know I still am on the way to where I want to be," she affirmed. "I'm very happy with the last few weeks—how I was able to be very matter of fact about it, not too emotional."
Looking ahead, a potential third-round showdown looms against the defending champion and current world number one, Aryna Sabalenka. Raducanu pushed Sabalenka hard in a match last August, taking a set and only losing in two tiebreaks.
