Raducanu, Bouzkova to take centre stage at Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open

Grand Slam-winner Emma Raducanu will play her first match at this year’s Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Monday, February 5.

The 21-year-old British star, winner of the 2021 US Open, was paired with Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova in Saturday’s draw, while an exciting line-up of on-court action on Monday also includes Caroline Garcia versus Sorana Cirstea and Beatriz Haddad Maia against Xiyu Wang.

Four-time Grand Slam-winner Naomi Osaka, meanwhile, will take to the court on Tuesday, February 6 as she begins her Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open journey in both the singles and doubles competitions.

The Japanese former World Number 1, who returned to action at the start of the year after giving birth last summer, will discover her singles opponent at the culmination of the qualifying rounds later on Sunday, where a victory would set up a mammoth clash against World Number 5 Elena Rybakina on Thursday.

In the doubles, meanwhile, the first-time partnership of Osaka and Ons Jabeur face Chinese duo Wang and Saisai Zheng in what promises to be an intriguing clash on Tuesday, which will also see the first appearance of talented Filipino star Alex Eala, who takes on Magda Linette.

World Number 6, Jabeur, will face the winner of Raducanu versus Bouzkova on Wednesday in a hugely anticipated clash as the Tunisian aims to make up for the disappointment of missing last year’s inaugural tournament through injury.

World Number 9, Maria Sakkari, will also be in action on Wednesday, while 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejčíková is set to play on Thursday.

The qualifying rounds continue today (Sunday), with Linda Noskova, Ashlyn Krueger and Diane Parry having already secured their spots in the main draw.

Emma’s first #MubadalaAbuDhabiOpen match takes place tomorrow, Monday 5th 🙌

Are you coming down for round one?#Mubadala #AbuDhabiSC #InAbuDhabi #WTA pic.twitter.com/1b5jsuyq5V

— Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open (@MubadalaADOpen) February 4, 2024