Emma Raducanu made a losing start to 2026 as she suffered a 6-3 3-6 6-1 defeat to Maria Sakkari during Team GB’s United Cup tie against Greece, sending Britain out of the competition. Raducanu came into the match with a perfect 4-0 record against Sakkari and had never even dropped a set to the world No. 51. But Sakkari rallied from an early break down to book Greece’s spot in the United Cup quarter-finals.
Raducanu was due to start her season with a match against Naomi Osaka on Sunday as GB faced Japan. But the world No. 29 pulled out with hours to spare after struggling with an ongoing foot injury, though it didn’t appear to be a problem when she finally took to the court a day later.
Playing her first match in 83 days, Raducanu got off to a good start when she broke Sakkari in the first game and then held to move 2-0 up. But she lost six of the next seven games and sent the ball long on set point as Sakkari took a 6-3 lead – her first-ever set won against Raducanu.
The British No. 1 attempted to bounce back early in the second set and told team captain Tim Henman and coach Francisco Roig that she didn’t want to play any more “high balls” to Sakkari after saving two break points.
It was Sakkari’s turn to save break points as Raducanu had four chances to take the lead in set two, but couldn’t convert them. The world No. 51 continued putting pressure on Raducanu and reaped the rewards, breaking with a backhand winner, but she immediately relinquished her advantage as she sent a forehand long, giving Raducanu the break straight back.
The break points kept coming and going, but the Brit was the first to pounce. Sakkari’s ball clipped the net and went wide, allowing Raducanu to serve for the set. And the former US Open champion saved one more break point before taking it courtesy of another Sakkari backhand error, forcing a decider after 11pm in Perth.
Sakkari drew first blood in the decider, going 3-1 up when Raducanu sent a forehand long, and a quick love-hold extended her lead. The match quickly started to run away from Raducanu, who seemed to be moving less as time went on.
The world No. 51 refused to back off and clinched another break. It was the final nail in the coffin, allowing her to serve for the match – and for Greece’s place in the quarter-finals. Another Raducanu error gave Sakkari her first win over the Brit in five meetings.
“It feels amazing, thank you so much guys for staying. I know it’s very, very late so thank you for staying and supporting us, it means a lot to us. Having the team by my side really, really helped me today,” Sakkari said after the match.
“Emma, I’ve had four tough losses against her, so to get that first win against her, against a great opponent, it means a lot, especially just delivering for Team Greece, so I’m just super happy.”
With Raducanu’s defeat, Team GB has been eliminated in the group stage. Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas came from behind to beat Britain’s Billy Harris 4-6 6-1 7-6(4) earlier on Monday, and Sakkari’s victory sealed Greece’s position as the winners of Group E.
There are three groups in Perth, and the group winners advance to the last four. The runner-up with the best record across all groups receives the fourth spot in the quarter-finals, but the Brits have not done enough to receive the runner-up place in Perth. Raducanu is now scheduled to compete in next week’s WTA 250 event in Hobart.