Emma Raducanu received a pretty tough opening draw at the Abu Dhabi Open as she is set to battle against 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.
After being handed a qualifying wildcard for the WTA 500 tournament in Abu Dhabi, some movements happened in the player field and ultimately the Briton’s wildcard was upgraded to a main draw one.
So instead of playing her qualifying match today, the 2021 US Open champion made the main draw directly and won’t have to play until at least Monday.
When Raducanu meets Vondrousova, it will be their third meeting.
Previously, the British tennis star beat the Czech 6-2 6-4 in the 2021 Wimbledon second round.
The following year, the 2023 Wimbledon winner got her revenge after beating the 22-year-old 6-1 6-1 in the Billie Jean King Cup.
Emma will play Marketa Vondroušová 🇨🇿 in the 1st round of the @MubadalaADOpen 🇦🇪🐪
The 1st seed Emma can meet is No.4 seed Yulia Putintseva 🇰🇿 in the 2nd round
Chat about Abu Dhabi on Discord 👇https://t.co/OSBk5VrN8D pic.twitter.com/I2SvXnLOxb
— Emma Raducanu Fans (@RaducanuNews) February 1, 2025
Raducanu lost early this week but Vondrousova is coming off an injury
So far, it hasn’t been a great season for either of the two players.
After missing Auckland and being annihilated 1-6 0-6 in the Australian Open third round by Iga Swiatek, the Briton also exited this week’s Singapore Open in the first round after being upset by Cristina Bucsa.
On the other side, Vondrousova was forced to retire her Adelaide round-of-16 match in the week before the Australian Open due to injury and she hasn’t played since.
Meanwhile, Raducanu insisted after her latest defeat that she felt positive despite the Singapore first-round loss.
“I think I’m in a pretty good place with everything and I think I actually played better than I did in Melbourne, so that is ironic,” she said afterwards.
“I think it was really small margins in it. I honestly thought I played pretty well today.
“She just played unbelievable and, credit to her, she kept it up the whole match.”
Vondrousova may not be the best rival for a first-round match but Raducanu will likely feel well about her chances considering the circumstances.
Tennis World USA