Emma Raducanu next match: When does the tennis star play at the Australian Open? Who she will play

The wait is over. Fans of Emma Raducanu will finally be able to watch her back in Grand Slam action when she takes to the Australian Open stage in the next few days.

It has been 12 months since the 21-year-old last competed in a major tennis tournament, as she missed the majority of last season due to injury. Raducanu's last match of 2023 was her defeat at the Stuttgart Open, she withdrew from her remaining tournaments after undergoing surgery on her ankle and both wrists to remove carpal bosses.

During her hiatus, Raducanu fell drastically down the WTA rankings and is currently 299th in the world. The Brit has used her special ranking of 103 to qualify for the Australian Open, which usually wouldn't be enough but due to several withdrawals, she was able to avoid the qualification stage and enter the main draw at Melbourne Park.

Now, after warming up at the Auckland Open earlier this month, Raducanu is ready to return to the Grand Slam stage.

Who will Emma Raducanu play at the Australian Open?

Raducanu's first opponent of the 2024 Australian Open will be Shelby Rogers of the US. The two previously met during Raducanu's fairytale US Open title run in 2021 — the Brit breezed past Rogers 6-2, 6-1 in the fourth round, despite the American previously knocking out former world number one Ash Barty.

Similar to Raducanu, Rogers spent a lot of time recovering from injury last year, having undergone surgery in July. The 31-year-old is currently ranked 156th in the world and hasn't played since her first round Wimbledon exit at the hands of Elena Rybakina last summer.

Rogers has never made it beyond the quarter-final of a Grand Slam — she reached the last eight of the 2020 US Open, and Roland-Garros in 2016 prior to that.

When is Emma Raducanu's next match?

Since winning her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2021, Raducanu has not reached further than the second round of a major tournament. The former world number 10 will be hoping to break this pattern in Melbourne and it all starts with Rogers.

The two will face off on Monday, January 15th with a start time yet to be confirmed but likely some time after midnight on Sunday, leading into the early hours of Monday morning for UK viewers. The Australian Open will be shown live on Eurosport in the UK and can also be accessed live and on demand on channel discovery+ with the Entertainment & Sport pass, which is available for £6.99 per month or £59.99 per year.