After leaving Abu Dhabi, Emma Raducanu provides an update on her schedule.
Emma Raducanu has stated that she will participate in the upcoming WTA 1000 event in Doha, so it appears that she will be staying in the Middle East for one additional week.
The 2021 US Open champion made her debut at the Abu Dhabi Open this week, and she won her maiden match in the Middle East in the first round against world No. 26 Marie Bouzkova. However, on Wednesday, she lost to second-seeded Ons Jabeur.
Despite some worries about her ankle during her two-set loss against Jabeur, Raducanu’s ailment doesn’t seem to be too significant, and she should be able to play again at the Qatar Open the following week.
Despite Raducanu’s 3-3 start to the season, the young British player has stated that her goal for the first few games of this campaign is to gain experience after an injury-plagued 2023 season.
In response to a question regarding her plans after losing, Raducanu said, Hopefully playing Doha. After that, I return, train, and maybe travel to the United States.
The former world No. 10 isn’t on the entry list since her ranking was too low before the official cut-off dates, so she’ll need a wildcard to enter both the Sunshine Double in the United States and the Middle Eastern tournament.
Raducanu is presently ranked No. 296 in the WTA Rankings, but after her victory in the United Arab Emirates, she is expected to move up to No. 261.
If she decides to compete in the February 11–17 Qatar Open, she may have another difficult draw as the unseeded player could go up against top-ranked players Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, and Jabeur in the opening round of the WTA 1000 tournament for 2024.
Aryna Sabalenka, the defending Australian Open winner and world No. 2 in the rankings, will be among the other elite players at the Indian Wells Open (March 6–17) and Miami Open (March 19–31).
When asked how she lost to Jabeur 6-4, 6-1, Raducanu said it would be preferable to forget about the match as soon as possible.
It was a challenging game. Credit to Ons for being a tough opponent; she performed admirably, but I myself need to forget about her match.
She is a formidable opponent with incredible hand abilities who can really hurt you on the court, especially when it comes to the heavier balls. Her defensive abilities are excellent, and I believe I can do better there as well.
