Coming into this year’s Australian Open, there was no expectation that we might see a British winner in the men’s or women’s singles events. After all, Virginia Wade is the only ever Brit to win the singles tournament in the Open Era. Nevertheless, it was hoped that there might be a few standout performances to enjoy from the British contingent.
Instead, British tennis fans witnessed a disappointing overall performance, which underlined the struggling state of British tennis. With only three men and three women among the top 100-ranked players, Britain has a small elite presence for a Grand Slam nation.
Some former tournaments, like the 2024 US Open, have offered hope for the future, but there was little to get excited about in Australia.
Men
Here’s a rundown of how the British men got on Down Under.
Cam Norrie
- World Ranking: 27
- Eliminated: Third round
With a win rate of 54%, the Australian Open is the weakest Grand Slam for Norrie, so he was not expected to go too far in Melbourne. He began solidly enough this time around, securing four-set wins over Benjamin Bonzi and Emilio Nava. But he was then matched up with world number three Alexander Zverev.
To be clear, there is no shame in losing to a player of Zverev’s ability, and the first two sets were closely contested, with both players taking one. However, the German upped his game in the second half, taking 12 sets while only conceding four. The defeat meant it was seven losses from seven for Norrie against Zverev in Tour-level meetings.
Jacob Fearnley
- World Ranking: 77
- Eliminated: First round
Fearnley put up a decent fight against Kamil Majchrzak, ranked 59 in the world, forcing him to a tie-breaker in two of the sets. Unfortunately, the Brit lost both these tie-breaks, and these fine margins sent him crashing out in the first round. It is a disappointment as he managed to make it to the third round last year, but losing to Majchrzak is no disgrace by any means.
Arthur Fery
- World Ranking: 186
- Eliminated: First round
Fery was responsible for a major first-round upset as he beat 20th seed Flavio Cobolli. To beat the Italian in straight sets looks like a huge achievement, but it must be stated that Cobolli was struggling with stomach problems. He took several medical breaks throughout the match and at one point threw up.
When faced with a healthy opponent, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, in round two, Fery lost in straight sets. Still, Fery deserves credit for his strong effort in qualification, in which he did not drop a single set.
Jack Draper
- World Ranking: 11
- Eliminated: n/a
Having gone as far as the fourth round last year, there was hope Draper could make a real impression down under. Unfortunately, the Brit is still recovering from an arm injury, and this tournament came just too soon for him, with his recovery not quite complete.
Women
And now we’ll turn our attention to the British women.
Emma Raducanu
- World Ranking: 29
- Eliminated: Second round
After cruising past Mananchaya Sawangkaew in her opening match, Raducanu then took on Anastasia Potapova of Austria. The winner faced a headline tie with world number one Aryna Sabalenka, but Raducanu blew her chance by losing 7-6, 6-2. In her defence, Raducanu suffered a foot injury during the off-season and had only returned to the court a few weeks before the Australian Open began.
This cannot fully excuse her inconsistent display, though, which saw her hit some erratic shots. The Brit said, ‘I think the misalignment with how I’m playing right now and how I want to be playing’. Clearly, she is trying to tweak her game, which may serve her better long term, but she looked like a player in transition out on the court.
Sonay Kartal
- World Ranking: 66
- Eliminated: First round
Losing to the 31st seed Anna Kalinskaya was the outcome most expected for Kartal in this match, but the 24-year-old was incredibly disappointed by her performance, rather than the result. She said she had probably not dipped to such a level in years. Although Kartal began brightly enough, a poor first-set tie-break preceded a complete second-set collapse.
Fran Jones
- World Ranking: 71
- Eliminated: First round
A hard defeat to watch as a very emotional Fran Jones was forced to retire in the second set of what was otherwise a very winnable tie against Polish qualifier Linda Klimovicova. A tearful Jones had attempted to soldier on through her glute problem, but it eventually became too much of a hindrance. Sadly, this is a familiar scene for the 25-year-old as it was the 16th time she has retired from a match since the start of the 2023 season.
Katie Boulter
- World Ranking: 113
- Eliminated: First round
Facing a first-round clash against 10th seed Belinda Bencic, the odds were always firmly stacked against Katie Boulter. She narrowly avoided having to qualify for the event, following a late withdrawal, but some warm-up matches might have done her some good. A rusty-looking Boulter lost the first set 6-0 in just 26 minutes. She offered much more resistance in the second but could not quite match the power of Bencic, who prevailed 6-4.