Australian Open 2025: How Emma Raducanu can attempt to cause a shock against Iga Swiatek
2025-01-17
Category: sports

While Iga Swiatek has enjoyed plenty of success on other hard courts, the Australian Open is where she remains ripe to be on the end of an upset.On Saturday, Emma Raducanu is planning to be the one who causes it in this year's third round.British number two Raducanu goes toe-to-toe with the five-time major champion on Rod Laver Arena at 00:30 GMT with live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra."I wouldn't be afraid to say that this could be a big upset because Raducanu loves the spotlight," former world number five Daniela Hantuchova told BBC Radio 5 Live.Raducanu, though, has lost all three of their previous matches.So how can the world number 61 upset the odds against the Polish second seed at Melbourne Park?
Improve her service game
The first key factor will be Raducanu's physical state.The 22-year-old did not play a warm-up tournament before the opening Grand Slam  of the season after suffering a back spasm when she bent down to tie a shoelace.During her second-round match against Amanda Anisimova, Raducanu twice needed treatment on the area and planned to "take it easy" in practice on Friday."I've had issues with it in the last month, but I have a little bit of time before the next match so I hope to get it right," said the 2021 US Open champion.Raducanu needed to stretch out her back during service games against Anisimova and has been broken 11 times in her first two matches at Melbourne Park.The troubles with her serve can also be put down to a lack of practice time - because of the back issue - on a recently remodelled motion.If Raducanu is unable to regularly hold serve against Swiatek, it would likely have severe repercussions.The 23-year-old has dropped serve just twice so far - both in her opening 6-3 6-4 win over Czech opponent Katerina Siniakova.
Keep moving well around the court
Raducanu's well-documented injury problems are the reason why she added a full-time fitness trainer to her team for 2025.Employing Yutaka Nakamura, who previously worked with Grand Slam champions Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka, was designed to make her more durable and sharper.Against Anisimova, Raducanu was happy with her movement despite needing to "push past the pain"."I thought I was moving really well into the corners," she said."I think I was able to get to some balls that maybe I wouldn't have been able to previously."Raducanu knows she will need to be at her most mobile against Swiatek.Asked what impresses her most about the former long-time world number one, Raducanu told BBC Sport: "Her athleticism. She slides and defends really well off the backhand corner and counter-punches that side really strongly."That's a big strength."
Try to be aggressive
In the past year, there have been examples of Swiatek struggling against aggressive baseliners like Raducanu - notably in her Australian Open exit 12 months ago.Czech Linda Noskova, then 19, ramped up the power and that paid dividends in a three-set comeback win.Afterwards, Swiatek said she had felt "stressed" and "uncomfortable" at being unable to adapt.However, she has appeared to learn from that experience.Overcoming difficulties against Japan's four-time major winner Naomi Osaka at the French Open and Britain's Katie Boulter at the recent United Cup match indicated her progress at problem-solving against this type of player.On both occasions, Swiatek initially tried to match her opponent for pace and the increased speed on her groundstrokes led to a series of unforced errors. Once she stopped trying to outhit them, hitting loopier returns instead of flatter ones, each contest swung her way.Nevertheless, you would imagine Raducanu needs to be aggressive from the baseline rather than simply counter-punching to give herself a chance.
Take advantage of any Swiatek doubt
Swiatek, whose one hard-court major win came at the 2022 US Open, has only managed to go past the Melbourne fourth round once, when she reached the semi-finals three years ago.The faster court speeds at Melbourne Park have been a struggle to get to grips with."We know Iga can be very vulnerable on these courts and does not feel as comfortable in front of the fans here as much as Emma," said Hantuchova."The only thing is Emma has not played someone with that intensity and that calibre for a long time." As she demonstrated in her fairytale US Open run, Raducanu can thrive under the spotlight of the big occasion - particularly when few others are giving her a chance.That is the mentality she will look to adopt against Swiatek."It's going to be a match for me where I feel like I don't really have much expectation externally," said Raducanu."But I think you always have the pressure that you put on yourself to perform to your best ability."