Emma Raducanu is set to face Ons Jabeur in an exhibition match in Abu Dhabi, and she’s quite excited about it.
Raducanu and Jabeur were initially set to play this exhibition match the year before, but Raducanu wasn’t able to play, so it was postponed to this year. It will mark the start of the 2023 season for both players.
Jabeur had a tremendous 2022 season, making two Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon and the US Open, on top of just playing the best season of her career. Raducanu didn’t have an equally good season, but she did show some promise at times.
A late wrist injury was rather unfortunate for Raducanu, but she recovered in time to make this match, and leading up to it, she’s excited about getting to play in Abu Dhabi against Jabeur.
This will be the first time Raducanu will play a tennis match since her Ostrava Open defeat to Daria Kasatkina. Getting to play against one of the best players in the world is a really good chance for her to test herself both physically and to see where her tennis stands.
"I think that the sense of competition and being able to have a match before next season starts is really important, and I’ll be able to improve from there, see where I’m at competitively."
Besides being there for tennis, Raducanu also had a chance to experience some of the best that Abu Dhabi has to offer, which was documented by the social media team of the event.
Overall, it’s been a good few weeks for Raducanu on the practice courts, and she’s looking forward to testing herself in a proper match.
"It’s been a while since the last tournament, so yeah, just putting more time on the tennis court really and looking forward to playing this event."