Australian Open 2025: Emma Raducanu beats Amanda Anisimova and faces Iga Swiatek in Melbourne next
Raducanu withdrew from the season opener in Auckland with back spasms and had not competed since mid-November before her first-round victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Raducanu struggled on her second serve against the Russian No. 26 seed, double-faulting 15 times, which she attributed to a change in serve and early-game jitters.
Another uninspiring start on her first service point against Anisimova.
Although Raducanu quickly stopped the attack, her serve was often punished by the American’s explosive groundstrokes.
But Anisimova, who reached the French Open semi-finals in 2019 as a 17-year-old and is rediscovering form after taking a break from the sport in 2023 due to mental health reasons, has also had issues with her serve, and lost the first set with a double fault.
As the second set began, there were further signs that Raducanu’s back problem was taking its toll.
After opening the area between the two points, three double faults broke the serve again, and Raducanu shouted to the coach after losing serve again at 3-0.
Physical and perhaps psychological improvements immediately helped her.