Emma Raducanu has not quite hit her stride in the early stages of the 2026 WTA season.

She began her year at the United Cup, but only featured in one match, which ended in a defeat to Maria Sakkari.

Raducanu then headed to the Hobart International, where she exited in the quarterfinals. The Australian Open followed, but her Grand Slam campaign ended early again.

This time, it was a second-round loss to Anastasia Potapova. Not long after that result, Raducanu and coach Francis Roig decided to part ways, ending their six-month partnership.

Now, the 23-year-old British star will set her sights on the first WTA 1000 event of the season in Qatar, where she has just been handed a tough draw.

Emma Raducanu’s Qatar Open opponent confirmed

Raducanu will begin her campaign at the Qatar Open against a qualifier, giving her a decent opportunity to build some momentum early on.

According to Tennis Abstract, she has handled those situations well, holding a 7-0 record against qualifiers since the start of 2025.

However, it does not get any easier from there. Her section of the draw includes Coco Gauff, Leylah Fernandez and Ekaterina Alexandrova, all in strong form heading into the tournament.

If Raducanu gets through that gauntlet and reaches the semifinals, she could come up against Elena Rybakina, who is carrying plenty of confidence after her Australian Open title.

Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek is seeded first overall at the event and Amanda Anisimova is considered one of the biggest threats in Swiatek’s half of the draw.

Looking back on Emma Raducanu’s 2025 Middle East swing

After her third-round exit at last year’s Australian Open, Emma Raducanu took part in three tournaments during the Middle East swing in 2025.

The former US Open champion started with the Abu Dhabi Open, where she was eliminated in the first round by Marketa Vondrousova.

Her stay in Doha was also brief, as she lost to Alexandrova in her opening match there as well.

Raducanu did manage to pick up a win at the Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating Maria Sakkari before falling to Karolina Muchova in the following round.

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