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Emma Raducanu has admitted that she was not on top of her game in her opening-round loss to Anhelina Kalinina at the Qatar Open in Doha on Monday.
Coming off a second-round loss to Ons Jabeur in Abu Dhabi, the 2021 US Open champion looked all at sea against Kalinina in the first set, getting bagelled in 17 minutes. The Ukrainian dropped just 12 points as she wheezed through the opening seven games before Raducanu got on the scoreboard.
The 21-year-old provided sterner resistance, breaking her opponent for 1-1 to get back on serve. Although Raducanu got broken once more, she saved 10/15 break points and saved two match points as a tiebreak ensued.
The Briton saw a set point come and go as Kalinina sealed victory in an hour and 39 minutes. Raducanu told Sky Sports after the match that she struggled with multiple facets of her game:
"I think I was struggling with everything, serve, return, forehand, backhand. To be honest, I felt like I never really got into it. I think it was a combination of things. It's like my first day match .I think I've played in a year, so that's different.
Also lamenting the day schedule and lack of practice before her Doha opener, she added:
"Honestly, I think I need to practice training outside a bit more because it's very different, and also the light, conditions, shadows - it's really hard to kind of see the ball, I found towards the end."
In her fourth tournament on her comeback from injury, Raducanu stumbled in the first round for the first time as she dropped to 2-3 in 2024.
How has Emma Raducanu fared this season
After an injury-riddled 2023 season, Emma Raducanu made her season debut in Auckland last month.
Following wrist and ankle surgeries, made a triumphant return to the WTA Tour against Elena-Gabriela Ruse in her Auckland opener, winning in three sets. However, the former US Open champion fell to second seed Elena Svitolina in the next round in three sets to bow out.
At her next stop at the Australian Open, she saw off Shelby Rogers for the loss of just five games before going down in three sets to Wang Yifan in the second round.
Following a few days off, Raducanu returned to the Tour at the Abu Dhabi Open. The former British No. 1 beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-1 before suffering a defeat by the same scoreline to second seed Ons Jabeur.
