Emma Raducanu Catches Lucky Break With Last-Minute Wild Card Upgrade In Abu Dhabi
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Emma Raducanu will have a higher chance of succeeding at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Open after her wild card was upgraded.
The British player had a weird start to the new season. On the one hand, she beat Ekaterina Alexandrova and Amana Anisimova, who are two very solid players, without too many issues at the Australian Open.
On the other hand, Iga Swiatek destroyed her 6-1, 6-0, and in her first tournament after the Australian Open, Raducanu shockingly lost to Cristina Bucsa in Singapore.
It wasn't clear what were the 22-year-old's plans after the Singapore Open, as she likely didn't expect the first-round exit either. However, thanks to her incredible brand power, the 2021 US Open champion doesn't need to worry about entering tournaments.
Raducanu received a wild card for the 2025 Abu Dhabi Open, even though her initial wild card was only for the qualifying. However, that changed only hours before the release of the main draw.
The qualifying draw was released on Friday, and Raducanu's name was not in it. The four players who received qualifying wild cards at the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi were Laura Samson, Teodora Kostovic, Heather Watson, and Wakana Sonobe, who won the 2025 Australian Open junior tournament.
Fans were surprised that Raducanu wasn't part of the qualifying draw and suspected her withdrawal. However, it was confirmed by the tournament organizers that the British player was missing from the qualifying draw because of good reasons.
Raducanu's wild card was upgraded from a qualifying to the main draw wild card, likely because of a withdrawal of another player. Thanks to that, the British player can avoid having to play two qualifying matches and start right in the main draw.
The 2025 Abu Dhabi Open starts on February 3rd and runs until February 8th, and Raducanu will want to have a deep run to prove that she still belongs to the top.
Only recently, Andy Murray's ex-coach, Mark Petchey, criticized Raducanu when he said that he didn't like how she played recently.
"For the first time, I would say that when I watched her in Australia and she got through to the third round, I didn't really like her tennis. And that's the first time I could honestly say that."
"Emma's serve from round one looked a little awkward and I've never thought that about her game ever. That would be my biggest concern. I'm not ever concerned about her athleticism. I know she's a great athlete."
"It very quickly becomes quite a mental thing to overcome because if you lose confidence, particularly in your serve, it can become sort of terminal. It is the most important shot in men's and women's tennis and you don’t want to lose confidence in that for too long."
