After suffering a straight-sets defeat at the Transylvania Open, Emma Raducanu is now focusing her efforts on the upcoming Qatar Open, which begins this week. The 23-year-old British tennis star faced a challenging match, losing 0-6, 2-6 to Sorana Cirstea. This loss marked her first singles final since her stunning victory at the 2021 US Open, and she is eager to bounce back quickly.
With little time to recover, Raducanu is slated to compete in the round of 64 at the Qatar Open starting Monday in Doha. Her recent schedule has raised fitness concerns, especially since she played her final just a day after a semi-final match. The strenuous nature of this back-to-back scheduling was evident, as Raducanu required a medical timeout during the final, during which a doctor assessed her blood pressure on-court.
Despite these challenges, Raducanu is set to take on World No. 80 Camila Osorio in her first match at the Qatar Open. The Colombian, who is merely 13 months older than Raducanu, has achieved a career record of 224 wins to 143 losses in singles, including three WTA titles—all won in Colombia—and a victory at the Philippine Women’s Open earlier this year. However, Osorio faced an early exit at the Australian Open, where she was defeated in the first round.
This upcoming clash is not new territory for Raducanu and Osorio, who have already met twice this year. Their latest encounter at the Hobart International in January saw Raducanu claim victory with a score of 6-3, 7-6. The pair first faced off in 2022 at the Washington Open, where Raducanu also emerged as the winner with a tight 7-6, 7-6 match.
This year’s Qatar Open marks Raducanu’s third appearance at the tournament, although she has yet to advance beyond the first round in her previous two attempts. In 2024, she initially entered as a wildcard but lost to Anhelina Kalinina, experiencing a first set bagel. Last season, she again entered as a wildcard and fell short against Ekaterina Alexandrova.
As Raducanu prepares for this new challenge, there is hope that she can leverage her past successes against Osorio to turn her fortunes around at the Qatar Open.