Emma Raducanu accepts Qatar Open wildcard in bid to end losing streak | Tennis | Sport

Emma Raducanu has accepted a late wildcard to play next week’s Qatar Masters as she bids to end her three-match losing streak.

The British No.2 split with her coach Nick Cavaday after her Australian Open defeat as her childhood coach deals with a chronic health issue.

And the world No.56 has since lost in the first round in Singapore and Abu Dhabi.

Now Raducanu, 22, has opted to stay in the Middle East and play a second WTA 1000 event while she weighs up her coaching options.

She is working with her fitness trainer Yutaka Kelecic and had another coach from earlier in his career – Dubai-based Roman Kelecic – in her team in Abu Dhabi.

But Raducanu told The National that she will not rush into appointing her seventh full-time coach since turning pro in 2021.

“It’s a decision that I want to take my time with,” she said. “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.

“And I think this period where I don’t necessarily have someone is going to tell me a lot. It’s going to teach me a lot, what I want, what I don’t want to look for in the next person.

“So I think I’m using this time period to just figure out what I really value. I’m not too sure yet right now. I haven’t come to any plans or decisions. So yeah, I’m just taking it, using the next couple weeks to see how I feel, and then make a decision.”

World No.2 Iga Swiatek, who beat Raducanu in the third round in Melbourne for the loss of one game, will bid to win her fourth consecutive title in Doha.