The struggles continue for British tennis star Emma Raducanu, who has endured another disappointing first-round exit at the Dubai Tennis Championships. This marks her third consecutive defeat, all of which have been plagued by evident physical difficulties.
The former US Open champion was forced to call for a medical timeout after a swift and decisive 6-1 opening set loss to Croatia’s lucky loser, Antonia Ruzic. The 23-year-old appeared to be experiencing significant issues with her serve throughout the initial stages of the match.
After receiving attention from a doctor, Raducanu showed a brief flicker of improvement at the commencement of the second set. She displayed admirable resilience, battling hard to force a decider. However, Ruzic ultimately regained control of the final set, securing a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 victory.
This latest setback follows a pattern of physical struggles for Raducanu since her appearance in the Transylvania Open final. Each of her subsequent matches has been hampered by fitness concerns, making this consecutive first-round exit at a WTA 1000 event a significant blow to her world ranking of 25.
Her recent form has been a cause for concern:
- Transylvania Open: In Romania, Raducanu suffered a comprehensive 6-0, 6-2 defeat to Sorana Cîrstea as she aimed for her first title since her triumphant US Open victory in 2021.
- Qatar Open: Just two days later, she was forced to retire from her first-round match against Camila Osorio, further highlighting her ongoing physical challenges.
Upon arriving in Dubai, Raducanu was initially slated to face Elisabetta Cocciaretto. However, the Italian player withdrew due to injury, paving the way for Ruzic, currently ranked world No. 67, to step in.
Ruzic, who narrowly missed out on defeating Naomi Osaka in the first round of the Australian Open last month, but had previously lost in the qualifying rounds in Dubai, began the match with considerably more authority. In contrast, Raducanu appeared visibly out of sorts from the outset.
Observations during the pre-match warm-up indicated Raducanu was practising her serve extensively. This concern was borne out in the opening set, where she committed four double faults and secured less than 50 per cent of her service points.
Despite the initial disadvantage, Raducanu showed signs of life after her medical timeout. She created five break point opportunities in Ruzic’s opening service game of the second set, and another in her subsequent service game. However, Ruzic managed to save all of them before breaking Raducanu’s serve to establish a 4-3 lead.
Although her serve remained a point of vulnerability, Raducanu demonstrated her fighting spirit by saving a match point. She then managed to break back Ruzic’s serve as the Croatian attempted to close out the match at 5-4.
Experiencing her most dominant period of the contest, Raducanu broke Ruzic’s serve again to level the set and then took the lead in the decider. However, as her physical condition appeared to wane, Ruzic capitalised, winning the final six games in succession to seal her victory in a gruelling two-hour and 20-minute encounter.
This appearance in Dubai marked Raducanu’s return to the tournament where, last year, she was subjected to “fixated” behaviour from a male spectator during her second-round match against Karolina Muchova.
