Emma Raducanu crashes out of Dubai in first round despite brief fightback after medic called onto court
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.
The British number one had been preparing to face Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto, only for her opponent to withdraw mere hours before the scheduled match.
Ruzic, ranked 67th in the world and arriving on a five-match losing run, stepped in as a late replacement.
The sudden change appeared to unsettle Raducanu, who went down 6-1 5-7 6-2 despite mounting a spirited comeback in the second set.
Emma Raducanu was well-beaten by lucky loser Antonia Ruzic in a dramatic three-set encounter
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The victory represents the biggest triumph of the Croatian’s career.
Raducanu endured a torrid opening set, squandering a 40-0 advantage in her first service game before being broken.
The 23-year-old faced break points in all three of her service games during a first set that lasted just thirty minutes.
Her error count proved costly, with 15 unforced mistakes compared to merely seven from her opponent.
At the changeover following the opening set, the former US Open champion summoned the trainer and was observed taking medication.
Emma Raducanu had briefly staged a fightback before losing six games on the bounce
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The world number 25 has been battling a chest infection that troubled her during the recent Cluj tournament and forced her retirement in Doha last week.
The medication appeared to take effect as the second set progressed, though Raducanu squandered five break point opportunities in Ruzic’s opening service game.
The Briton found herself trailing before producing a remarkable turnaround, breaking serve to level at 5-5 and then claiming four consecutive games to force a deciding set.
Taking an early 2-0 lead in the decider, Raducanu seemed poised for victory.
However, the momentum shifted dramatically as the lucky loser broke back and seized control.
From that point, Raducanu’s energy visibly faded, and she dropped six successive games as the match slipped away entirely.
This defeat marks Raducanu’s third consecutive loss, following her retirement in Doha, though 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.
Raducanu continues to compete without a coach, having parted ways with Francisco Roig after the Australian Open.
She has been travelling with Alexis Canter and physiotherapist Emma Stewart, who also handles her strength and conditioning work.
