Emma Raducanu continues to hunt for a deep run at the Australian Open. The British No.1 bowed out in straight sets in the second round against Anastasia Potapova. Despite leading 5-3, she couldn’t hold her nerve or break back, slipping out of the tournament sooner than hoped. Yet in her post-match interview, she stayed composed, believing she had given it all on court. Still, not everyone saw it that way. Former pro and 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick offered some tough love.

The American didn’t hold back. Roddick admitted he was unimpressed with some of Raducanu’s recent comments, calling on her to push harder and reignite her fire. He reminded fans that her 2021 US Open title remains her only singles crown.

“I love Raducanu. I think she’s wildly intelligent. Her game is obviously fantastic. I read some stuff sometimes where it’s like, ‘I played great in the second round’ and I’m like, ‘Man, I don’t want you to be okay with it.’ I think I read something this offseason where she’s like, ‘I want to play a little less this year.’ Play less? You’re a Grand Slam champion who’s #30 in the world. You’ve got to play more. I want her to want to play more,” Roddick said on his Served with Andy Roddick podcast, his tone both admiring and frustrated.

Emma Raducanu had started her Melbourne campaign brightly. She defeated Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1 in her opener, looking sharp and confident. But her run ended quickly. The 28th seed fell 7-6(3), 6-2 to World No.55 Anastasia Potapova in the second round. Even after the loss, Raducanu remained upbeat, proud of the fight she showed and content with how she handled the occasion.

“I don’t want to give myself too much of a hard time because I know my preparation going into this tournament. I have to leave with my head held high because of the matches I’ve had here. I didn’t even know at the beginning if I would be coming to Australia, so it’s a positive in that sense,” she said after the match.

That statement struck a chord with Roddick. He believed Emma didn’t take her preparation seriously enough before the first Grand Slam of the season.

“When you have an off-season to train, and you’ve taken that off-season, you should be coming in pretty healthy. Obviously, we can’t control all of the factors involved. So, I don’t know what I don’t know. But yeah, I saw that from Emma. She’s like, ‘I want to play less this year.’ Earth wants you to play more, right? You haven’t played a full season. It’s been five years since the US Open,” he added.

Her 2026 season has stumbled from the start. Playing the United Cup with Team Great Britain, Raducanu tried to balance optimism with caution in her first event of the year. She lost 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to Maria Sakkari, a defeat that sealed Britain’s fate and ended their knockout hopes.

The 2021 US Open champion had been managing a foot injury since late last year. It forced her to pull out of her opener against Naomi Osaka before finally stepping onto the court to face Sakkari. Determined, she gave it everything to rediscover her rhythm.

Now, another early exit marks another setback. What comes next for Emma is anyone’s guess. Her on-court struggles keep drawing headlines, but this time, her coach’s approach has also come under scrutiny.

Emma Raducanu’s coach comes under fire following her loss

Sky Sports commentator Jonathan Overend didn’t hold back in his post-match take, suggesting trouble might be brewing behind the scenes with her coach, Francisco Roig. The Spaniard has been guiding Raducanu since last year’s Cincinnati Open, but Overend hinted that the chemistry might not be clicking as hoped.

“When reading between the lines, it sounds to me like there is confusion, confusion which can often come from coaches,” Overend said. “This isn’t being critical of Roig, he’s done a lot of good work with Raducanu, that much is evident. But the harsh reality of the player‑coach relationship is that the player is the boss, the employer.”

“In some cases, the coach needs the job; in some cases, the coach wants the job; and in other cases, the coach neither needs nor wants the job but is in it anyway. There is always strategic, tactical, and technical advice a coach can offer because they are experienced and have a certain degree of success. But what is success when it comes to tennis coaching? It is a great unknown.”

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The British star has already worked with a carousel of coaches in her short career. Her early link-up with Nigel Sears ended after Wimbledon 2021, then came Andrew Richardson, who stood by her during that magical US Open run but wasn’t kept on. Torben Beltz had a brief tenure before Dimitri Tursunov warned of “red flags” around too many outside voices. Sebastian Sachs came next, followed by a reunion with Nick Cavaday, her junior mentor, who later stepped aside for health reasons. After that, Mark Petchey took charge and helped her rediscover some spark before TV work pulled him away.

Roig is now the latest figure in her corner, having guided Raducanu through the last three Slams — Wimbledon, the US Open, and now Melbourne. The pattern has been steady but uninspiring: a third round in London, another in New York, and now a second-round stumble in Australia.

Now, all eyes are on the 2021 US Open champion. Will Emma Raducanu take the needed steps to correct what went wrong and possibly come back to win a title? Share your thoughts in the comments below!