- The 22-year-old went into the tournament having lost her previous four matches
- Raducanu beat Maria Sakkari in her opener at the Dubai Tennis Championships
- She became overwhelmed and began crying in her next clash on Tuesday night
Emma Raducanu burst into tears in mysterious circumstances after falling behind early on during her clash at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday night.
Raducanu came into the competition on the worst run of results in her career, having lost four successive matches, but put an end to that in her Round of 64 clash.
She beat Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-2 in fine fashion to set up a tie with Karolina Muchova on Tuesday but things didn’t go to plan for the 22-year-old on the night.
Her opponent raced into an early 2-0 lead in the first set and, as the players took a brief break, Raducanu was seen wiping away tears with her towel.
A visibly distraught Raducanu sat on her bench and spoke with the match umpire before quickly returning to her feet and resuming the match.
As the former US Open champion was seen crying by the umpire’s chair, commentators on Sky said: ‘It’s meant to be a fun game.’
Emma Raducanu burst into tears after falling behind early on during her clash on Tuesday night
The British star fell two games behind during her match at the Dubai Tennis Championships
After a brief break, Raducanu wiped away her tears and quickly resumed play in Dubai
According to reports, a fan is thought to have shouted out towards Raducanu, before being ejected from the venue by security.
After composing herself, Raducanu battled her way back into the set but eventually lost on 8-6 on a tie-break, with Muchova taking the first set 7-6.
Raducanu had failed to capitalise on wildcard entries into tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha over the last two weeks, losing in the first round both times to Marketa Vondrousova and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Those losses followed another first-round defeat to Cristina Bucsa in Singapore and a hammering by Iga Swiatek after she had reached the third round of the Australian Open for the first time.
Raducanu remains without a coach after Nick Cavaday stepped down for health reasons.
While the search continues, she is joined by her old friend and coach Jane O’Donoghue.
After ending her losing streak in her opening match of the tournament, Raducanu said: ‘I just tried to stay really focused on the point in front of me.
‘There were some momentum shifts throughout the match and when I got broken twice early in the sets I just regrouped really well and I managed to break back [immediately] both times.
Raducanu swiftly composed herself and returned to the court after speaking with the umpire
Raducanu ended her losing run in style with victory over Maria Sakkari on Sunday evening
‘I was really pleased with how I fought and competed against Maria, she’s a top player, been as high as three in the world. I’m just really proud of my performance.’
Raducanu had been handed a wildcard to appear at the event, which is being held at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in the United Arab Emirates.
She sits at No 60 in the world and, given the ranking points available at the WTA 1000 level, a couple of wins in the UAE would get that number shooting north.
