The second round of the Australian Open kicks off on Day 4 as 64 women remain in the first Grand Slam draw of 2026. Some of the best in the world will be in action on Day 4, including British star Emma Raducanu squaring off against Anastasia Potapova. Elsewhere around the grounds, we offer predictions for Coco Gauff vs Olga Danilovic, Mirra Andreeva vs Maria Sakkari, and Aryna Sabalenka vs Zhuoxuan Bai. Ilemona Onekutu, Zain Mustafa, and Jordan Reynolds provide their insights. But who will advance?<\/p>\n
Ilemona<\/strong> Zain<\/strong> Jordan<\/strong> Ilemona<\/strong> Zain<\/strong> Jordan<\/strong> Ilemona<\/strong> Zain<\/strong> Jordan<\/strong> Ilemona<\/strong> Zain<\/strong> Jordan<\/strong> Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke – Imagn Images<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The second round of the Australian Open kicks off on Day 4 as 64 women remain in the first Grand Slam draw of 2026. Some of the best in the world will be in action on Day 4, including British star Emma Raducanu squaring off against Anastasia Potapova. Elsewhere around the grounds, we offer predictions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4067,"featured_media":81478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[1526,15429,10120,15969,205,2363,18504,18505,11218,16189,5319,15728,3541,15647,4594,16029,18486,18487,2373,2369],"class_list":["post-96269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-predictions","tag-anastasia-potapova","tag-anastasia-potapova-predictions","tag-ann-li","tag-ann-li-predictions","tag-australian-open","tag-australian-open-predictions","tag-diana-shnaider","tag-diana-shnaider-predictions","tag-emma-raducanu","tag-emma-raducanu-predictions","tag-jasmine-paolini","tag-jasmine-paolini-predictions","tag-magda-linette","tag-magda-linette-predictions","tag-magdalena-frech","tag-magdalena-frech-predictions","tag-talia-gibson","tag-talia-gibson-predictions","tag-tennis-picks","tag-tennis-predictions"],"modified_by":"Shane Black","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4067"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96269"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96277,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96269\/revisions\/96277"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nPaolini\u2019s opening match showcased her trademark intensity and court coverage, forcing errors through pressure rather than power. Frech was solid in round one, but Paolini\u2019s ability to turn defense into offense should be decisive.
\nPrediction: Paolini in 2<\/em><\/p>\n
\nWhile Magdalena Frech looked great in her first-round match, the issue for her in this matchup is that she likes to stay on the baseline and dictate play, something Jasmine Paolini does better than her. As such, I\u2019m favouring the Italian here.
\nPrediction: Paolini in 3<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThis match is on Paolini\u2019s racket. Frech has played well at the Australian Open before and will likely perform at a solid base level, but the Italian is a much better all-round player. I do not foresee an upset here.
\nPrediction: Paolini in 2<\/em><\/p>\nMagda Linette vs Ann Li<\/h4>\n
\nLinette navigated her first round with discipline, especially in the longer baseline exchanges. Li played confidently, but her level dipped when pushed into extended rallies.
\nPrediction: Linette in 3<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThis matchup is likely to be decided by second serves and baseline consistency, with both players coming into the match after hard-fought three-set wins in the first round. In these conditions, and having already beaten a seed, I think the experience of Magda Linette gives her a slight edge.
\nPrediction: Linette in 3<\/em><\/p>\n
\nBoth women had notable opening-round matches. Linette knocked out the No. 15 seed Emma Navarro, while Li needed eight match points to overcome the spirited Camila Osorio after an epic battle.
\nThe Pole was impressive against Navarro, and Li might be a little flat in this one after using so much mental energy against Osorio.
\nPrediction: Linette in 2<\/em><\/p>\nTalia Gibson vs Diana Shnaider<\/h4>\n
\nShnaider\u2019s first-round performance stood out for its aggression and clarity of intent, controlling points early. Gibson competed well but struggled to turn the momentum when under sustained pressure.
\nPrediction: Shnaider in 2<\/em><\/p>\n
\nTalia Gibson had one of the most surprising performances of the first round for me, and in front of a home crowd she should be well pumped for this match. But Diana Shnaider\u2019s power from the back of the court might be a bridge too far for the Aussie here.
\nPrediction: Shnaider in 3<\/em><\/p>\n
\nHome favorite Gibson\u2019s 6-1 6-3 hammering of Anna Blinkova generated some headlines. Can she cause a bigger upset against Shnaider? It is not impossible, but the chances are slim. Shnaider will have taken confidence from how she recovered to beat Barbora Krejcikova in the previous round.
\nPrediction: Shnaider in 3<\/em><\/p>\nEmma Raducanu vs Anastasia Potapova<\/h4>\n
\nRaducanu looked physically sharp in round one, moving freely and committing to her patterns. Potapova played an aggressive opener, but her error count rose when rallies became unpredictable.
\nPrediction: Raducanu in 2<\/em><\/p>\n
\nComing into the match with big physical and confidence concerns, Emma Raducanu responded well by winning her first-round match comfortably in straight sets. Anastasia Potapova, on the other hand, had to overcome a one-set deficit. While the Austrian\u2019s backhand and ground game can cause Raducanu problems, the Brit should still find enough patches of consistent tennis to win this one.
\nPrediction: Raducanu in 3<\/em><\/p>\n
\nRaducanu needs to find the correct balance between attack and patience against the gritty Potapova. That is something the former US Open champion often struggles with, especially in important moments. I have a feeling that Potapova, despite being less talented, will win this.
\nPrediction: Potapova in 2<\/em><\/p>\n