Emma Raducanu has learned her fate in the Australian Open draw (Image: Getty)
The Australian Open draw has been made, and even though Emma Raducanu has the protection of a seeding, the Brit will have a very tough task on her hands if she wants to reach the second week, as she’s on a collision course with two-time former champion Aryna Sabalenka.
By being seeded, Raducanu doesn’t have to face another seed until the third round. But she has been given the toughest seed possible at that stage in world No. 1 Sabalenka. Raducanu has a losing 0-3 record against Sabalenka, with two of those defeats coming last year at Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open.
Seeded 28th, Raducanu will open her campaign against world No. 195 Mananchaya Sawangkaew, who entered the draw on a protected ranking. The Thai star cracked the top 100 last year before getting injured, and will be making her Grand Slam main draw debut.
The British No. 1 will then face either Suzan Lamens or Anastasia Potapova in the second round. And if she reaches round three, Raducanu is projected to come up against four-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka.
After receiving some nightmare draws at the Grand Slam tournaments in 2025 – Raducanu lost to Iga Swiatek in Melbourne and Paris, Sabalenka at Wimbledon, and Elena Rybakina at the US Open – the world No. 29 worked to get her ranking high enough to be seeded at the Majors, offering her some protection.
Although she doesn’t need to face another top player in the first two rounds, the outcome could well be the same for Raducanu, with Sabalenka lurking in her section of the draw. Should she make it to the fourth round, the Brit could face Victoria Mboko or Clara Tauson. Jasmine Paolini, Ekaterina Alexandrova, and Marta Kostyuk are potential quarter-final opponents. Raducanu is also in the same half of the draw as Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva and Elina Svitolina, whom she could only face in the semi-finals.
Raducanu isn’t the only Brit who could face a top player in the first week. Katie Boulter, who made it into the main draw following some withdrawals, opens her campaign against world No. 10 Belinda Bencic, who comes into the Australian Open full of form after being voted the United Cup MVP following Switzerland’s run to the final.
Novak Djokovic is in the same half of the draw as two-time reigning champion Jannik Sinner (Image: Getty)
Sonay Kartal will face No. 31 seed Anna Kalinskaya in the first round, with world No. 2 and six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek a potential third-round opponent, and Francesca Jones opens against a qualifier or lucky loser, but could face 12th seed Elina Svitolina in round two.
Meanwhile, 10-time former champion Novak Djokovic has learned his fate as he prepares to return to competition at the Australian Open. The Serbian superstar hasn’t played since winning the Hellenic Championship in Athens at the end of last season. He skipped the ATP Finals in November and ,earlier this month, withdrew from this week’s Adelaide International, admitting he wasn’t quite physically ready to compete.
Djokovic, who sparked concerns when he cut a practice session at Melbourne Park short on Wednesday, is the No. 4 seed and has landed in Jannik Sinner’s half of the draw, meaning they could meet in the semi-final. Sinner is the two-time defending champion at the Australian Open.
The 38-year-old opens against Pedro Martinez, who was ranked inside the top 40 less than a year ago, but has dropped to No. 71 in the world. Djokovic could meet Brandon Nakashima in the third round, and Jakub Mensik and Tallon Griekspoor are potential fourth-round opponents.
Britain’s Cameron Norrie is seeded 26th and faces Benjamin Bonzi in round one, with last year’s runner-up, Alexander Zverev, lurking as a likely third-round rival. Jacob Fearnley, who reached the third round here last year, takes on Kamil Majchrzak in his opening match.