Emma Raducanu suffers first-round exit at Dubai Championships
Emma Raducanu suffered a stunning first-round exit at the Dubai Championships on Monday, falling to lucky loser Antonia Ruzic in a dramatic three-set encounter, reports BritPanorama.
Raducanu, the British number one, had been preparing to face Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto, who withdrew mere hours before the scheduled match. Ruzic, ranked 67th in the world and arriving on a five-match losing streak, stepped in as a late replacement.
This sudden change appeared to unsettle Raducanu, who went down 6-1 5-7 6-2 despite mounting a spirited comeback in the second set. The victory represents the biggest triumph of Ruzic’s career.
Raducanu endured a torrid opening set, squandering a 40-0 advantage in her first service game before being broken. She faced break points in all three of her service games during a first set that lasted just thirty minutes. The former US Open champion made 15 unforced errors compared to just seven from her opponent.
At the changeover following the opening set, Raducanu summoned the trainer and took medication. The treatment seemed to have some effect as the second set progressed, although she squandered five break-point opportunities in Ruzic’s opening service game. Trailing at 5-5, Raducanu produced a remarkable turnaround by breaking serve and winning four consecutive games to force a deciding set.
Taking an early 2-0 lead in the final set, Raducanu appeared poised for victory. However, momentum shifted dramatically as Ruzic broke back and seized control. From that point, Raducanu’s energy visibly faded, resulting in her dropping six successive games as the match slipped away entirely.
This defeat marks Raducanu’s third consecutive loss, following her retirement in Doha. However, she had previously strung together four victories to reach the Transylvania Open final earlier this month — her first since that memorable 2021 US Open triumph. The pattern echoes her struggles from late last season, when she similarly faded in tight three-setters against Barbora Krejcikova, Jessica Pegula, and Zhu Lin.
Continuing to compete without a coach, having parted ways with Francisco Roig after the Australian Open, Raducanu has been travelling with Alexis Canter and physiotherapist Emma Stewart, who also manages her strength and conditioning work.
This latest setback adds to the challenges facing Raducanu as she strives to regain her form amidst increasing scrutiny and expectation.
