The opening match between Emma Laducane and Camila Osorio at the Hobart International was called off for the day due to rain, with the Briton leading 6-2 2-4.
The British number one is preparing for next week’s Australian Open and has opted to head to Tasmania for some time on court after losing her only match at the United Cup in Perth last week.
She got off to a strong start against Colombia’s Camila Osorio, winning the first set before rain interrupted the second set.
The bad weather came at the perfect time for Raducanu, the tournament’s top seed, to mount a fightback against Osorio.
Now she will have a chance to regroup before returning to the court, rather than before 2 a.m. GMT.
Raducanu put on a dominant performance, winning the first set 6-3 and advancing to the first set.
The Briton, who led 40-0 in the first game of the second set, would have been hoping for a routine victory.
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Highlights of the United Cup match between England’s Emma Raducanu and Greece’s Maria Sakkari.
However, Osorio broke and although Raducanu fought back with straight sets, the Colombian won the next three games to extend his lead to 4-1.
Raducanu quickly claimed one break back before being forced into a 45-minute delay due to rain.
They returned at 8:45 p.m. local time (9:45 a.m. Japan time), but after scoring just three points, the rain began to fall again, ending play for the day.
Jacob Fearnley failed to capitalize on his second chance at the Adelaide Open.
Britain’s No. 3 lost in the qualifying round, but was handed a lifeline by entering the main event as the lucky loser.
Other British players were also participating in the Australian Open qualifiers. Billy Harris, Jan Choynski, Ryan Peniston and Mingye Hsu all suffered losses.
However, Harriet Dart made it through to the second qualifying round in Melbourne, aiming to qualify for the Australian Open main draw.
Britain’s fifth-ranked Dart defeated Australia’s Destaney Aiava 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 and will next face Thailand’s Ranrana Talardi.
Williams loses in Hobart ahead of Australian Open return
Venus Williams lost in straight sets to No. 6 seed Tatiana Maria, 6-4, 6-3, with less than a week left until she qualified for the Australian Open.
Williams, 45, qualified for the year’s first Grand Slam tournament as a wild card. She also had the right to play in Hobart as a wild card, but there she lost to Maria in a match that lasted almost an hour and a half.
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and world No. 576 broke 38-year-old Maria’s serve in the first set. But Williams dropped serve twice, handing the set to Maria, No. 42 in the WTA rankings.
One break of serve was enough for Maria to win the second set.
“The crowd was amazing. Usually it’s a really big game, so it’s fun to watch,” Williams said. “I felt like I couldn’t play like that when the wind was blowing. I was disappointed that I couldn’t perform like I usually do. I was in control until I couldn’t be in control…I just keep going and keep going and getting credit. I’ve been away for a while.”
Williams has reached the Australian Open singles final twice, in 2003 and 2017, but lost to her younger sister Serena on both occasions, and this year she will break the age record held by Japanese player Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she played at the 2015 Australian Open.
In another first-round match in Hobart, two-time major champion Barbora Krejcikova lost to Peyton Stearns. In Hobart, the unseeded 55th-ranked Krejcikova lost to Stearns 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4).
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