Britain’s Emma Raducanu will play in a qualifying draw for the first time since her fairytale run to the 2021 US Open title after being offered a wildcard to the preliminary stage of next week’s Abu Dhabi Open.
Raducanu, 22, is travelling with her fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura but is without a coach following Nick Cavaday’s decision to step down for health reasons.
The world number 56 reached the third round of the Australian Open but then lost a three-hour first-round match to Cristina Bucsa at the Singapore Open on Monday.
In New York four years ago, Raducanu won three matches in qualifying and seven in the main draw without dropping a set to become the first qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam title.
The stunning nature of that achievement led to many wildcard invitations into tournaments, but there have been times when her ranking was lower that entering qualifying seemed a strong option.
“I think playing qualies is not something that I am against,” Raducanu told BBC Sport last August.
“If you get through those two rounds you feel you’re adjusted to the court. If you’re playing a seed, you have a better eye for the ball, a better feel – it’s not that I am against it at all.”
World number five Elena Rybakina, Australian Open semi-finalist Paula Badosa and British number one Katie Boulter are among players with main draw entry in Abu Dhabi.
Raducanu will first be in action on Saturday, when qualifying for the WTA 500 event begins.
