The No. 28 seed immediately gave her supporter a shoutout during her on-court interview. “Thank you for the support, I think it was great on both sides, and a particular shout out to - ‘Raddo’ apparently is my new nickname, so you're invited to every match, just let me know or let my agent know,” Raducanu said.

The former world number 10 started the new year by participating in the United Cup in Australia, a team competition that was won by Poland of Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz. Emma faced Greek star Maria Sakkari in her first match of 2026 and was defeated in three sets with a decent performance.

The Aussie tennis superfan who captured the attention of British star Emma Raducanu has accepted her offer to be courtside for the rest of her Australian Open campaign – and cheekily told Yahoo Sport Australia he is available to join the Brit's entourage fulltime should she keep winning.

Both no 1 seeds, Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz, won in straight sets, with Cameron Norrie, Alexander Bublik and Emma Raducanu also moving on