Australian Open Tennis: Emma Raducanu’s Run Ends, Cam Norrie Grinds On as Mananchaya Sawangkaew Impresses in Melbourne

The Australian Open tennis story around Emma Raducanu and Cam Norrie took a sharp turn on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, as Raducanu exited in round two while Norrie fought through another demanding test in the men’s draw. Hovering around both narratives is Mananchaya Sawangkaew, whose fearless first-set shotmaking against Raducanu earlier in the tournament offered a glimpse of a new name worth tracking beyond this fortnight.

Emma Raducanu: From Sawangkaew Scare to Second-Round Exit

Emma Raducanu’s Melbourne campaign briefly looked like it might become a steady-building run. In round one, Raducanu overcame Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1 after a nervy opening phase that saw the Thai debutant play with surprising pace and freedom. Sawangkaew’s early intent forced Raducanu to problem-solve in real time: absorb the pace, lift her first-serve percentage, and push rallies into deeper patterns where experience tends to win out.

That same “solve it under pressure” theme resurfaced in round two—but this time the match swung away. Raducanu fell 7-6(3), 6-2 to Anastasia Potapova, a result that ends her Australian Open tennis run earlier than she would have hoped after getting through the opening hurdle. The first set was the crucial hinge: Raducanu built a lead and had chances to close, but her level dipped at the worst moments and the match tightened into a tiebreak. Once the opener slipped, the second set moved quickly, with Potapova dictating more of the exchanges.

For Raducanu, the takeaway is less about one opponent and more about the recurring pattern that elite players punish: short lapses on serve, forehand timing drifting under stress, and a narrow margin for error in windy or tricky conditions. When the “free points” aren’t there, every service game becomes a negotiation.

Cam Norrie: Five-Set Recovery, Then Another Battle

While Raducanu’s tournament ended, Cam Norrie has kept Britain’s men’s singles hopes alive by doing what he often does best: competing through discomfort, momentum swings, and long stretches where nothing comes easily.

Norrie’s Australian Open tennis began with a survival test, edging Benjamin Bonzi 6-0, 6-7(2), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. The scoreline tells a familiar Norrie story: a blistering start, a mid-match wobble, then a reset built on fitness, patterns to the backhand corner, and the willingness to play one more rally than the opponent wants.

On January 21, Norrie was back in the trenches in round two against Emilio Nava. At the time of the latest updates, Norrie held a two-sets-to-one lead, 6-1, 7-6(3), 4-6, in a match that again underlined the thin line between control and chaos in best-of-five tennis. The second set mattered: squeezing out a tiebreak often decides whether a long match becomes manageable—or turns into a stamina and nerve contest deep into a fourth and fifth.

Mananchaya Sawangkaew: Why the Name Keeps Popping Up

Even in defeat, Mananchaya Sawangkaew left an impression. Grand Slam first rounds can be brutal for newcomers—big stadium lights, heavier balls, faster courts, and an opponent who knows how to win ugly. Yet Sawangkaew didn’t shrink. For a set, she played with enough pace and belief to make Raducanu uncomfortable, showing the kind of clean ball-striking that can translate into quick progress if it holds up under repetition and pressure.

The immediate next step for Sawangkaew is consistency: sustaining first-set intent into the middle of matches, protecting second serves, and learning when to pull the trigger versus when to build points. But Australian Open tennis is often where fans first spot future tour regulars, and this debut had that “file the name away” feel.

Key Results Snapshot

• Emma Raducanu def. Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1 (Round 1)

• Anastasia Potapova def. Emma Raducanu 7-6(3), 6-2 (Round 2)

• Cam Norrie def. Benjamin Bonzi 6-0, 6-7(2), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 (Round 1)

• Cam Norrie vs Emilio Nava: Norrie leading 6-1, 7-6(3), 4-6 (Round 2, match in progress in latest updates)

What to Watch Next in Australian Open Tennis

For Raducanu, the focus now shifts from match-to-match momentum to longer-term clarity—what identity she wants on court and how to build a serve-plus-first-strike pattern that holds up under stress. For Norrie, the question is simpler but harder: can he keep winning the physical and mental coin-flips that define best-of-five tennis, especially when matches refuse to be straightforward?

And for Sawangkaew, the Australian Open has already delivered a valuable message: her game can bother established names. The next challenge is making that threat last longer than a set.