Who is Emma Raducanu’s Australian Open Round 2 opponent? World No 55 Anastasia Potapova
Despite some pre-tournament concerns, Emma Raducanu is safely through to the second round of the Australian Open for the fifth consecutive year.
The 28th seed overcame a slow start against Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew to progress on Sunday, easing through the gears to seal an impressive win — and move to 5-0 in opening-round matches in Melbourne.
Raducanu could face top seed and title favourite Aryna Sabalenka in round three, but will need to overcome Anastasia Potapova first, with the world No 55 standing in between the Brit and a place in the third round of the event.
Who is Anastasia Potapova?
Born in Saratov, Russia, in March 2001, Potapova has been a regular on the tour for several years and was a huge star as a junior.
Potapova reached world No 1 in the ITF junior rankings and lifted the girls’ singles title at Wimbledon in 2016, alongside reaching the girls’ singles semi-final at the French Open that same year.
After losing her first two WTA Tour finals in 2018, the 24-year-old lifted her first WTA title at the 2022 Istanbul Cup, and then triumphed at the 2023 Linz Open and 2025 Transylvania Open.
Potapova’s best Grand Slam run came at the French Open in 2024, reaching the fourth round before defeat to eventual champion Iga Swiatek, and she has reached the third round of the remaining three majors.
Though she is currently ranked 55th in the world, she reached a career-high of 21st in the WTA Rankings back in June 2023.
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Citizenship change
Born and raised in Russia, Potapova represented the nation of her birth throughout the majority of her career.
However, the 24-year-old announced last December that she would begin representing Austria from the start of 2025.
Potapova is the latest in a line of Russian-born players who changed their sporting nationality, and the Australian Open is her first Grand Slam tournament representing her new nation.
As a result of her nationality switch, Potapova is now the Austrian No 1, and the nation’s highest-ranked WTA player in over a decade.
Australian Open run
Potapova has not reached the third round of the Australian Open since 2021, where she beat Alison Riske and Timea Babos before defeat to Serena Williams.
The 24-year-old has lost in the first round of the tournament twice since then, and that nearly proved to be the case once again in 2026.
Potapova was 6-3, 5-1 down against Suzan Lamens in the opening round on Sunday, but fought back in thrilling fashion, eventually claiming an impressive 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 triumph to stay alive in the tournament.
When will Raducanu and Potapova meet?
This will be the first career meeting between Raducanu and Potapova, making it harder to assess how they will match up on court.
While we do not yet know the precise timing and location of the match, we do know that Raducanu and Potapova will take to court for their match on Wednesday.
Competing in the top half of the women’s draw, and having played on Sunday, both women have the luxury of two full days off between their first matches — with the opening round of action spread across three days in Melbourne.
The winner will face either top seed Sabalenka or qualifier Zhuoxuan Bai in the third round.
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