Emma Raducanu has disclosed that she is reassessing her upcoming schedule following a setback at the Qatar Open this week.
The British tennis sensation suffered an early exit from the first WTA 1000 tournament of the season, falling to Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina. Raducanu endured a tough start, losing the first set 6-0 in under 25 minutes. Despite mounting a comeback in the second set and forcing a tie-break, she ultimately fell short after squandering a set point.
Following the match, Raducanu spoke with Sky Sports, acknowledging that she has been “struggling with everything.” This defeat marks her fourth loss in seven matches since her return, as the 21-year-old aims to reclaim her position among the top players in the sport after undergoing three surgeries last year.
Raducanu is presently dependent on wild cards and making use of her Special Ranking status to gain entry to major tournaments. However, the loss to Kalinina represents her initial setback since her return to the sport in January.
The evaluation of her performance hinted at her dissatisfaction with certain aspects of her preparation, leading her to announce her decision to return home instead of seeking a wild card for the Dubai Championships next week.
“I believe I need to reassess my tournament scheduling and focus on gaining more match experience,” she remarked. “For now, I’ll return home to practice and reevaluate my approach moving forward.”
While Raducanu recognizes the importance of challenging herself against top-tier opponents to regain her ranking, she appears poised to make significant adjustments to her schedule in the upcoming weeks. While this decision may seem like an overreaction to a disappointing loss, it will be intriguing to observe how her strategy evolves from this point.