Raducanu made encouraging progress last year, climbing back into the world’s top 30 and playing more matches than in any previous season of her career.
However, the off-season technical work she planned to put in with coach Francisco Roig – who helped Rafael Nadal win 16 of his 22 major titles – was compromised by a foot injury.
When Raducanu returned in 2026, a tweak to her forehand – a higher and longer takeback, designed to add more spin – was clear.
But she seemed to lack trust in the shot against Potapova, landing 70% of her forehand returns in – compared to 96% from her opponent – and making 19 unforced errors off that wing.
“I want to be playing a different way. The misalignment with how I’m playing right now and how I want to be playing is something I want to work on,” Raducanu said.
“There are definitely pockets of me playing how I want to play, and it comes out in flashes, which is a positive. But it’s not how I want to be consistently.
“It’s not going to fall into place straight away, but the more I work on how I want to be playing, it will be more of my identity every time I step onto the court.”
