Emma Raducanu shoots herself in the foot after attending glamour event with Naomi Campbell
The glitz and the glamour continues off the court for Emma Raducanu, but once again there are question marks as to whether her lifestyle is plaguing her form on it. After an injury plagued 2023 campaign, the 2021 US Open champion’s bid to get her career back on track stumbled again on Monday, when she was beaten at the Qatar Open by Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina.
On paper, defeat against the world No.30 was no disgrace – and Raducanu pushed her opponent all the way in the second set before losing it on a tie-break. But by then, she had already lost the first 6-0, only the second time in her professional career she had been bagelled in a set.
Just two days previously, the 21-year-old was a VIP guest at the grand opening of the luxury One&Only One Za’abeel hotel resort in Dubai. That was despite her exiting the Abu Dhabi Open in the second round 72 hours before the lavish event, humbled by former Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur.
Rather than travel early in order to aid her preparations though, Raducanu honoured her commitment in the UAE. She eventually arrived in Doha on Sunday, but her admission in an interview for Sky Sports Tennis that she had “no idea” about the speed of the surfaces raised scrutiny over her schedule.
Indeed, on the one hand, images of the British player relishing the occasion alongside supermodel Naomi Campbell underlined the celebrity status she has enjoyed ever since her very own fairytale of New York. But on the other, it added to perceptions that she has regularly lost focus on the immediate tasks in hand following her elevation to superstardom.
