Emma Raducanu experienced a sudden change in opponents at the Qatar Open after tournament organizers were forced to redo the draw due to a technical issue.
During the initial draw ceremony in Doha on Friday, Raducanu was set to face No. 14 seed Anna Kalinskaya. However, when the draw was officially posted online, she was instead listed to play Ekaterina Alexandrova, whom she had already faced at the Australian Open earlier this year.
According to reports, the confusion arose due to a human error when entering names into the 56-line draw sheet. While all chips representing players had been drawn, an empty slot remained due to the mistake.
To maintain the integrity of the draw, tournament officials decided to reallocate all 40 unseeded players. The incorrect draw sheet was never ratified or officially distributed, though leaked screenshots caused some confusion online. Initially, Raducanu had been the fifth name drawn, but after the re-draw, she was placed first. If she defeats Alexandrova again, she will face top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the second round.
This isn’t the first time the draw system has encountered issues. Before Wimbledon last summer, an error occurred when Beatriz Haddad Maia’s number was drawn, but Mirra Andreeva’s name mistakenly appeared in the draw. The mistake was eventually corrected before completion.
Raducanu’s Independent Approach
Raducanu is preparing for her confirmed first-round match largely on her own. The 22-year-old remains without a coach after parting ways with Nick Cavaday, who had been working with her since November 2023. Cavaday, a former British player, has been dealing with a chronic health condition, which prevented him from managing a full tour schedule, leading to their split last month.
For now, Raducanu is traveling with her full-time fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura and received on-court assistance last week in Abu Dhabi from Roman Kelecic, who had coached her as a junior.
In Doha, she will be supported by Jane O’Donoghue, a former player and coach who now works in banking but remains a close family friend and trusted advisor. O’Donoghue has intermittently coached Raducanu over the last three years, sometimes stepping in for Cavaday when his health prevented him from traveling.
Additionally, Raducanu will have access to remote support from the Lawn Tennis Association, which will provide strategic and tactical analysis on demand through its team of data scientists based in west London.
