Emma Raducanu under fresh fire over party appearance before loss in Qatar

Emma Raducanu’s latest demoralising defeat at the Qatar Open has divided the tennis world after it emerged she attended a party in Dubai 48 hours before the tournament. The former US Open champion blamed a lack of preparation after her 6-0 7-6 defeat to unseeded Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina in the opening round of the tournament in Doha.

Raducanu said afterwards that she struggled with “everything” in what was the 21-year-old’s first day match in almost a year. Raducanu made a staggering 48 unforced errors in the match and was bagelled in a first set that lasted just 22 minutes.

To be honest I never felt like I really got into it,” Raducanu said after the loss. “I think it was a combination of things. It was my first day match in nearly a year so that’s different and I need to practise training outside a bit more because it is very different and with light fading and shadows. It is hard to see the ball. When the tennis isn’t there I think that you need to at least fight and I did that in the second set.”

The 21-year-old – who has struggled with injuries and churned through several coaches since her historic US Open title as a qualifier in 2021 – admitted she couldn’t get anything going against Kalinina. “I was struggling with everything, forehand, backhand and return,” she added. “It was hard because she (Kalinina) had a good backhand so I just struggled with the timing of the ball and it is going to come with more time practising. It is hard for me to get used to the tour schedule. I think I need to schedule my tournaments better.”

READ MORE:Emma Raducanu beaten by Anhelina Kalinina in first round of Qatar Open

However, Times sports writer Stuart Fraser suggested Raducanu’s decision to attend a party at a luxury hotel in Dubai 48 hours before the Doha tournament had something to do with her poor performance. The event was attended by celebrities such as Naomi Campbell, Jennifer Lopez, and Vanessa Hudgens. Fraser’s suggestion that it was not ideal preparation for Raducanu drew support on social media.