There had been doubts about the British No1’s fitness after she slipped and turned her ankle at the ASB Classic, casting doubt over her participation in the first Grand Slam of the year.
But the 20-year-old showed little concern over the injury, which had forced her to pull out of the tournament in Auckland, in a straightforward 6-3, 6-2 win over Tamra Korpatsch.
Raducanu, though, faces the arduous task of meeting No7 seed Coco Gauff in the next round, the American having won that ASB Classic and earmarked as one of the favourites in Melbourne.
Despite playing with a strapped ankle, Raducanu said: “Everything I’ve done has been quite controlled the last week. So, I had to test it out in a real match, with the unpredictability and just getting used to it in the beginning.
“It felt good. You know it’s there and, if anything, it kind of alleviates the pressure. That’s because you’re like, I’ve done so well to get myself onto the court and my team has done so well. It’s a great achievement for all of us.
“I might as well just enjoy all the hard work we’ve done to get myself here.”
Meanwhile, there was an early British casualty when Kyle Edmund, playing in his first Grand Slam since the 2020 US Open because of three knee injuries, lost his first-round match.
Edmund had been handed a particularly tough draw against 15th seed Jannik Sinner and struggled to make any inroads in a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 defeat.
