Emma Raducanu’s upcoming WTA Tour schedule remains up in the air.
The Brit has lost her last three matches, spanning first-round exits in Abu Dhabi and Singapore, and a third-round showing at the Australian Open.
Raducanu’s ranking was not high enough to gain entry into the upcoming WTA 1000 events in Doha and Dubai, and her plans are now up in the air as she will likely need a wildcard to compete.
The world No. 56 has made it clear that she is keen to compete more frequently in 2025 and go all-in with her schedule. But Raducanu has run into some trouble, as she failed to meet the cut-off for the upcoming events in Doha and Dubai.
The Qatar Open—the first of the back-to-back WTA 1000 events—will begin next week. When the entry list initially came out at the end of January, Raducanu was the 13th alternate for the 64-draw event.
She was also the 17th alternate for the Dubai Tennis Championships, held the following week. Raducanu must now rely on multiple withdrawals or a wildcard to compete in either event.
The British No. 2 could also enter qualifying to reach the main draw. Raducanu has not competed in qualifying since the 2021 US Open when she famously won 10 matches in a row to be crowned champion.
But she has now shown a willingness to drop down to the preliminary rounds to compete. Raducanu took a qualifying wildcard into this week’s Abu Dhabi Open, but it was upgraded to a main draw wildcard following withdrawals.
The 22-year-old suffered a 6-3 6-4 defeat to Marketa Vondrousova in the first round on Tuesday. It was her third loss in a row.
Raducanu also has another problem – she is currently on the hunt for a new coach. The Brit parted ways with Nick Cavaday after 14 months together, as Cavaday needed time at home to deal with a chronic health condition.
The world No. 56 enlisted one of her junior coaches, Roman Kelecic, to work with her temporarily in Abu Dhabi. Kelecic previously coached Raducanu during her years on the ITF circuit and is based in Dubai.
If Raducanu does compete in the WTA 1000s in Doha and Dubai, she could ask Kelecic to stay on until the end of the Middle East swing.
But the former US Open champion is planning to take things slow as she searches for Cavaday’s replacement. “It’s a decision that I want to take my time with,” Raducanu told The National.
“I think that’s why I haven’t necessarily jumped into something straight away, because I want to make sure it’s a right fit.”
The Brit also addressed her plans for the rest of the Middle East swing. She added: “I have no idea. I’m going to take it week by week.
“See how I am, see how the body is and see what kind of plan we put in place, I guess. But I’m not thinking too far ahead, just trying to take it day by day in the current situations.”
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