Emma Raducanu suffered a disappointing 6-2, 6-4 defeat to Australian wildcard Taylah Preston in the quarter-finals of the Hobart International on Thursday. The 23-year-old Briton, seeded first at the WTA 250 event, was hoping to build momentum ahead of the Australian Open but produced a dismal performance in challenging rainy conditions.
Raducanu, who won the US Open in 2021, made numerous unforced errors and struggled to find her rhythm against the 20-year-old world No 204. Preston, a former top-10 junior, dictated play from the baseline with clean, bold shotmaking. The loss marks Raducanu's fourth-worst defeat by ranking since her breakthrough title.
Raducanu now heads to Melbourne for the Australian Open, where she is the 28th seed. She will face Thailand's Mananchaya Sawangkaew in the first round, with a potential third-round clash against world No 1 and two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka looming. The Briton must show significant improvement to progress deep into the tournament.
Several other British players are also in the draw. Sonay Kartal meets 31st seed Anna Kalinskaya, while Francesca Jones faces Polish qualifier Linda Klimovicova. Katie Boulter, who gained entry after late withdrawals, opens against 10th seed Belinda Bencic. In the men's draw, Cameron Norrie (26th seed) plays Benjamin Bonzi, Jacob Fearnley faces Kamil Majchrzak, and qualifier Arthur Fery takes on 20th seed Flavio Cobolli.
