Raducanu v Sawangkaew live: Australian Open latest score updates as British No 1 begins tournament
Cameron Norrie set to go the distance
Cameron Norrie must always feel so confident whenever he goes two sets to one down, given his fitness and ability to turn matches around over the distance.
And that’s exactly where he’s heading in this tussle with Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi after Norrie wins the fourth set 6-3 to force the decider.
Over on Margaret Court Arena, Alexander Bublik has wrapped up a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win over Jenson Brooksby. It means Emma Raducanu will be taking to court next.
(REUTERS)
Jamie Braidwood18 January 2026 10:16
Tim Henman sets target for Emma Raducanu ahead of Australian Open and 2026 season
Emma Raducanu should be aiming to establish herself in the world’s top 20 this season, according to Tim Henman.
The former US Open champion returned to the top 30 in the WTA rankings for the first time in two years after a more positive 2025 campaign, where she managed to commit to a full schedule and play a career-high 50 matches, and will be seeded for the Australian Open draw this week.
“She’s still building up that fitness again and that resilience,” said Henman, who will be working for TNT Sports and Discovery+ on their coverage of the Australian Open.
“I think when I reflect on 2025, she finished 29 in the world, which I think is a very solid year, but if she can continue to build the physical resilience and also the speed and power that goes with that, then there’s no doubt in my mind that she can finish in the top 20 this year because her ball striking and her tennis ability is extremely high level.
“It’s early on in the season. Hopefully she can start to build momentum because that’s what you need. You need matches and wins. Hobart’s a good opportunity, it does look pretty windy and not the easiest conditions, so whatever happens there, hopefully she can come to Melbourne and have a good run.”
(Getty)
Jamie Braidwood18 January 2026 10:10
Venus Williams wins opening set on Australian Open return
Venus Williams! After making history by becoming the oldest woman to play in the Australian Open singles at the age of 45, the wildcard has won the opening set 7-6 against Serbia’s Olga Danilovic.
The seven-time grand slam champion first played at the Australian Open in 1998, when she was 17, and did not realise she would be making history when she accepted a wildcard into the tournament.
On the idea of becoming the oldest woman to play in the Australian Open, Williams said: “I hadn’t thought about it until it came out in the press. So yay. Yay for me! Let’s do this.”
She’s looking pretty impressive, too.
(AP)
Jamie Braidwood18 January 2026 09:55
Who is Mananchaya Sawangkaew? Raducanu’s opponent making grand slam debut
- Mananchaya Sawangkaew is 23 years old and is ranked 195th in the world, with a career-high of No 100. She is the second-ranked player from Thailand
- She will be making her first appearance in the main draw of a grand slam against Raducanu, having previously lost in the second round of qualifying last year
- Sawangkaew has won all five matches she has played this season after winning a World Tennis Tour 75 event (the rung below the WTA Tour) in Thailand
- She missed the second half of last season due to a back injury – but before then reached the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open, where took a set off top seed Anna Kalinskaya (the current world No 33)
(Getty Images)
Jamie Braidwood18 January 2026 09:50
Aryna Sabalenka up and running at Australian Open
Two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka is up and running with a 6-4 6-1 win over the 20-year-old French player Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah, who caught the eye in the first set but could not stop Sabalenka’s dominant start to the season as she closed out a routine win.
Meanwhile, 10th seed Alexander Bublik is now 6-4 6-4 up on Jenson Brooksby, so Raducanu’s match could be coming up within the hour.
Aryna Sabalenka (R) shakes hands with France’s Rajaonah Rakotomanga (AFP via Getty Images)
Jamie Braidwood18 January 2026 09:35
Cameron Norrie now struggling against Benjamin Bonzi
That excellent start from Cameron Norrie has quickly evaporated and he will need to do it the hard way if he is to advance to the second round of the Australian Open. After losing the first set 0-6, Bonzi has won the next two 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 to take control of the contest. Norrie, the 26th seed, looks out of sorts as he slices wide to lose the third set.
Jamie Braidwood18 January 2026 09:28
Emma Raducanu looking for momentum after disrupted off-season
Emma Raducanu arrives at the Australian Open looking for form and fitness after a foot injury disrupted her preparations and threatened her momentum.
Raducanu was limited to static drills as she trained in London during the off-season and was unable to play a part in Great Britain’s opening United Cup tie against Japan and Naomi Osaka before falling to a three-set defeat to Greece’s Maria Sakkari.
After beating Camila Osorio in a rain-disrupted first-round match at the Hobart International, where Raducanu was the top seed, Raducanu suffered a shock defeat to world No 204 Taylah Preston in the quarter-finals.
Jamie Braidwood18 January 2026 09:20
Emma Raducanu on another third-round collision course with World No 1
Emma Raducanu could face world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of the Australian Open as the British No 1 landed a tough draw despite her seeding for the opening grand slam of the season.
Raducanu will begin her tournament against Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew, who will be making her grand slam main draw debut, while her possible second-round opponents are Russian-born No 59 Anastasia Potapova or No 85 Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands.
Raducanu’s seeding of 28 coming into the Australian Open meant she would have expected to face one of the top eight players in the world if she made the third round, but drew the hardest possible opponent after landing in Sabalenka’s section.
The Belarusian has reached the final of the Australian Open three years in a row and will be determined to regain her title after last year’s shock defeat to Madison Keys.
Emma Raducanu could face Aryna Sabalenka at a grand slam again (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Archive)
Jamie Braidwood18 January 2026 09:05
Cameron Norrie in action on opening day
Cameron Norrie will be looking to join Arthur Fery in the second round of the Australian Open but has been pegged back by Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, after the 26th seed made a lightning start.
Norrie raced to a 6-0 opening set, but was forced to save several set points to get through to a tiebreak in the second. Bonzi won the decider 7-2. A match of two halves so far.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Jamie Braidwood18 January 2026 08:51
British qualifier Fery knocks out 20th seed on Australian Open debut
Great Britain’s Arthur Fery claimed the first upset of the Australian Open as the qualifier knocked out 20th seed Flavio Cobolli in the first round.
The 23-year-old Fery, making his overseas grand slam debut, won 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-1 to take out the rising star Cobolli, who took a medical timeout and was visited by the doctor as he struggled with a stomach bug.
Fery won his first-round match at last year’s Wimbledon, also beating the 20th seed in Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, after receiving a wildcard into the tournament.
This time, Fery has now scored four victories so far in Melbourne, having come through from the first round of qualifying, and will now take on Argentina’s Tomas Martín Etcheverry in the second round.
Jamie Braidwood18 January 2026 08:45
