WTA Qatar Open draw: Emma Raducanu gets rematch before possible clash against world No 1
Emma Raducanu will be up against one of the two players she has already beaten this year in her opening match of the Qatar Open while she could face world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka as early as the second round.
After being paired with 2022 Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova in the first round of the Abu Dhabi Open this week, the world No 56 has been handed another tough opener for the first WTA Tour 1000 event of the year.
Raducanu received a wildcard for the Doha main draw and she will take on world No 25 Ekaterina Alexandrova in the opening round in what will be a rematch of their Australian Open clash just over a month ago.
On that occasion, Alexandrova was the 26th seed and Raducanu was ranked No 61, but it was the Brit who came away with a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2) victory as she went on to beat Amanda Anisimova in the second round before losing against second seed Iga Swiatek.
But those two wins are her only victories so far in 2025 as she lost against Cristian Busca in three sets in the first round of the Singapore Tennis Open before going down in straight sets against Vondrousova this week.
Raducanu will be hoping for a much-need confidence-boosting win over Alexandrova, but if she gets through that clash it will get even tougher as she will face top seed Sabalenka, who has a bye into the second round, while 14th seed Anna Kalinskaya could await in the third round.
Sixth seed Jessica Pegula is the other top-10 player in the bracket and she starts against either Elina Svitolina or Vondrousova.
The winner of Sabalenka’s section is projected to face Coco Gauff in the semi-final with the third seed kicking off the tournament against either Marta Kostyuk or Zeynep Sönmez while she could have an all-American quarter-final against eighth seed Emma Navarro.
Three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek is the highest-ranked player in the bottom half of the draw and she will face either Maria Sakkari or a qualifier in the second round.
The world No 2 is projected to meet fifth seed Elena Rybakina – who takes on one of Dayana Yastremska and Peyteon Stearns first up – in the quarter-final.
The Swiatek-Rybakina section winner is expected to meet reigning Dubai Tennis Championships winner Jasmine Paolini in the last four.
Fourth seed Paolini kicks off her Doha campaign against either Yuan Yue or Caroline Garcia while she could be set for an intriguing quarter-final clash against seventh Zheng Qinwen. The Chinese star could meet Ons Jabeur in the second round, but the Tunisian has to get past McCartney Kessler first.
