Emma Raducanu loses first match of 2026 season in familiar fashion at United Cup

Raducanu succumbed in three sets to Greece’s Maria Sakkari as Great Britain were knocked out of the United Cup

Emma Raducanu lost her first match of the 2026 season as Great Britain were eliminated from the United Cup.

Raducanu, who withdrew from her match against Japan’s Naomi Osaka on Sunday due to a foot issue, took to the court for the tie against Greece on Monday night in Perth.

The British No 1, who had won all four of her previous meetings against world No 51 Sakkari, fought back to take the second set but eventually was defeated 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

After Billy Harris lost in a final-set tie-break to Stefanos Tsitsipas earlier in the day, it means Great Britain have been eliminated in the group-phase of the mixed-gender event, despite their win against Japan yesterday. Instead, Greece progress to the last-eight as group winners.

“It feels amazing, thank you so much guys for staying,” Sakkari said, as the crowd stayed close to midnight in Perth.

“I know it’s very, very late so thank you for staying and supporting us, it means a lot to us. Having the team by my side really, really helped me today.

“Emma, I’ve had four tough losses against her, so to get that first win against her, against a great opponent, it means a lot, especially just delivering for Team Greece, so I’m just super happy.”

Emma Raducanu lost her first match of 2026 in at the United Cup Perth on Monday (Getty Images)

Raducanu’s loss in a deciding set has a familiar sentiment: the 23-year-old lost in the third set on nine occasions last season and in three of her final four tournaments of the year.

The world No 29 looked unbothered by the foot issue but will be disappointed with losing to a player ranked 22 places lower, especially after breaking in the first game of the match.

But Raducanu lost six of the next seven games and despite fighting back in the second set, her movement was visibly worse in the decider as Sakkari took it by a comfortable margin.

Raducanu, who has employed Rafael Nadal’s former technical expert Francisco Roig as her coach, will next head to the WTA event in Hobart next week before the Australian Open starts on 18 January. Raducanu is set to be seeded at Melbourne Park.