Emma Raducanu to make immediate return to action after first-round defeat in Singapore; US Open champion had initially been given qualifying wildcard but was upgraded to main draw; watch Abu Dhabi Open live on Sky Sports Tennis from Monday. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player. Emma Raducanu will play Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the first round of the Abu Dhabi Open after her wildcard entry was upgraded to the main draw. Raducanu had initially been due to play in the qualifying rounds of a tournament this weekend for the first time since her triumph at the US Open in , but the year-old was instead moved up to the main draw on Saturday where she was drawn against world No 36 and fellow wildcard Vondrousova.
Raducanu famously beat Vondrousova when an year-old wildcard on her full Wimbledon debut in , two years before the Czech player became the first unseeded player to win the women's singles at the All England Club. Raducanu, when also on a wildcard, reached last year's second round at the tournament in Abu Dhabi. Having bypassed the two-round qualifying games, Raducanu will now feature in her third tournament of the year a week after losing to world No world Cristina Bucsa in the first round of the Singapore Open.
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Earlier in the month Raducanu had reached the third round of the Australian Open before a bruising , defeat to world No 2 Iga Swiatek. Both have byes to round two, which takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Raducanu could be joined in the main draw by year-old compatriot Sonay Kartal after the British No 3 fought back on Saturday from a set down to beat France's Chloe Paquet , , in the first qualifying round.
Kartal, who is ranked 90 in the world and won her maiden WTA title in Tunisia last September, will now play Japan's Moyuka Uchijima in Sunday's second qualifier and victory would secure her a place in the full tournament.
