Emma Raducanu offered an impressive demonstration of her resilience at the Hobart International as she rallied from an overnight second-set deficit in her rain-delayed first-round match to defeat Camila Osorio of Colombia 6-3, 7-6 (2).
The victory marks Raducanu’s first win since September after struggling with a foot injury in the final weeks of the 2025 season. She had contested just one match this season after being sidelined for much of the off-season, losing in three sets to Maria Sakkari in the United Cup. Considering those recent challenges, this is a positive start for Raducanu, who will next face Magdalena Frech, the WTA No 57.
“These ones mean so much more,” Raducanu said of her tight victory. “It’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. This is a very good day for sure to stack up.”
The top seed in Hobart, Raducanu was locked in a tough battle with Osorio, the WTA No 82, when the match was eventually suspended due to rain. Raducanu had played solidly to take the opening set, but as Osorio began to take the ball early and inject more pace into her strokes, the 22-year-old became increasingly passive. A third set seemed to beckon as she trailed 1-4 and a double break. Raducanu retrieved one of the breaks just before play was suspended at 2-4, deuce on her serve, due to heavy rain.
Upon the restart, Raducanu looked like a different person. It was the Briton who stepped inside the baseline and dictated, dominating with her forehand but also striking her backhand down the line well. By imposing her superior firepower, Raducanu separated herself from her lesser opponent and she finished the match by winning seven of the last nine games on the restart, completing her great recovery with a confident, emphatic tie-break.
“Very, very difficult match,” said Raducanu. “We played under all conditions and coming on, coming off, a few times, it was really difficult. I don’t think I’ve slept over many matches in between so that was also a new one for me. I thought Camila played an incredible match overall. Such good defence, and then stepped in when I dropped the ball short. I’m just really pleased with how I came out today and turned it around and then stuck in during the tie-break.”
Although she was unable to train at full power due to her foot injury, Raducanu was able to spend some time working through static feeding drills and it is clear that a lot of time and thought has gone into adjusting her technique during the off-season. She has slightly altered her forehand technique this year, lengthening her swing in an apparent attempt to generate more pace, spin and weight of shot so that she is better placed to counter the numerous bigger hitters who have overpowered her on the tour in recent years. Raducanu will need to play as many matches as she can to grow comfortable with those changes in competition and by winning, she has provided herself another opportunity to improve on Thursday.
