Emma Raducanu set to play qualifying for first time since US Open win after Abu Dhabi Open opportunity given

Emma Raducanu has often snubbed playing qualifying over the past year or so since she returned to the tour but in a good indication for her Middle Eastern swing, she has decided to try and qualify for the Abu Dhabi Open.

Raducanu has ironically not been in a qualifying draw since she won the US Open back in 2021. She is travelling with her fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura but is without a coach following Nick Cavaday's decision to step down.

So she is also looking for a new coach. She reached the third round of the Australian Open but lost to Cristina Bucsa at the Singapore Tennis Open albeit she thought she played better than Melbourne.

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The wildcards have dried up as well with tournaments offering them to bigger established names and Raducanu has often snubbed opportunities to play qualifying for her ranking to see if she can get in the normal way. But this has often not been the case.

"I think playing qualies is not something that I am against," Raducanu told BBC Sport last August.

"If you get through those two rounds you feel you're adjusted to the court. If you're playing a seed, you have a better eye for the ball, a better feel - it's not that I am against it at all."

She plays qualifying on Saturday when it begins at the Abu Dhabi Open in a draw which features Elena Rybakina and Paula Badosa as leading lights who she will aim to join. Doha and Dubai also are two tournaments where she is outside of the cusp and will have to also play qualifying at.

The same can be said for Indian Wells and Miami so it is very much something that Raducanu will have to get used to or find a way to increase her ranking either through carving these chances or in fact playing lower level which has always been the conundrum for a player of her stature.

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