Anastasia Potapova defeated Emma Raducanu 7–6, 6–2 in the first round of the Australian Open on hard court on 21 January 2026, an upset victory against the pre-match favourite. Raducanu entered as the odds-on favourite at 1.35, whilst Potapova was priced at 3.13, yet the Russian proved the steadier competitor across both sets. The opening set went to a tiebreak, where Potapova secured the crucial points to claim it, before dominating the second set to close out the match convincingly. The result represents a significant scalp for Potapova's Australian Open campaign and raises questions about Raducanu's current form heading deeper into the tournament.