Emma Raducanu made a quick flight from Abu Dhabi to Doha to watch the FIFA World Cup final, and she also met fellow Brit, David Beckham.
On December 16th, 2022, the former US Open champion took on Tunisia's Ons Jabeur at the 2022 Mubadala World Tennis Championship, which is a non-WTA affiliated exhibition, and lost a three-set battle 7-5, 3-6, 8-10.
Being close to Qatar, where the FIFA World Cup final was held at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, Raducanu made a decision to travel to Doha and attend the match, which saw Argentina and France fight for the title.
It was a very close match, which was decided in a penalty shootout, but ultimately, Lionel Messi's Argentina won the match. Leading his country to the top of the world was the career highlight for the Argentine superstar.
During the match, which was attended by many celebrities and athletes, Raducanu got to meet and take a photo with another football star who was also in attendance to watch the game.
It was a legendary former football player, David Beckham, who posted about it on social media. The duo can be seen in the stadium with Beckham captioning it:
"Emma Raducanu, so good to see you."
Raducanu shared the story on her Instagram as well, and she seemingly enjoyed the match, which was a thrilling end of the fantastic tournament.
Despite getting to enjoy a little big of off-season fun, it will be back to work for the Brit soon, as Raducanu has a lot to prove in 2023 after a partially unsuccessful 2022 season.
After breaking through in 2021, many had great expectations of the British player, but she struggled with form, expectations, as well as some injuries, meaning she finished the 2022 season as the world no. 78 in the WTA Rankings, far from her career-high tenth place.