Recently, Raducanu's wild card to the main draw of the Abu Dhabi Open has been in the spotlight, as she has only qualified for the qualifying tournament before. However, that changed at the last minute, and Raducanu was "promoted" to the main event.

The change has sparked speculation that Raducanu, a former Grand Slam champion, may have skipped the qualifying round in some way, but there is no solid evidence to back up that claim.

The wildcard change was first made public on social media by tennis observer James Gray, who expressed skepticism about Raducanu's last-minute "upgrade" and even suggested that the promotion may have been swapped with other players, criticising the lack of clarity in the wildcard award.

However, Gray then communicated with the tournament organisers, and the tournament appeared to have clarified the external card arrangements. Gray again took to social media to say that the wild card upgrade was actually due to the retirement of other players.

According to relevant information, the American player Kruger, who originally won the wild card of the main event, directly entered the main event according to her ranking after the retirement of several players. As a result, Kruger no longer needed a wild card, which was left vacant and eventually offered to Raducanu. This was also confirmed by the tournament organizers. Gray wrote on social media: "There is a clarification on this matter...... Kruger's wild card went to Raducanu and the result was the same! ”

It's worth noting that Raducanu hadn't played in a qualifying tournament for at least four years, and now she skipped the qualifying round and went straight to the main event of the WTA 500 event.

After exiting in the third round of the Australian Open, Raducanu parted ways with coach Nick Cavaday. Despite the success of their nine-month partnership, Raducanu jumped from No. 300 to the top 60 in the world rankings, the partnership ended unexpectedly, a decision he says he made due to health issues.

Raducanu recently unveiled her strategy for choosing a new coach. In an interview with The National, Raducanu said she wanted to take the time to find the right coach to replace her mentor from childhood, Kawadai. "It's something I want to make a decision slowly. I guess that's why I didn't make a choice right away, because I wanted to make sure I found the right person. She said.

Despite the current challenges, the 22-year-old sees it as an opportunity to grow and find a coach who is truly suitable for her long-term development. "So I feel like I'm using this time to figure out what I really value. I'm not sure yet, I haven't made any plans or decisions yet. So, I want to use the next few weeks to see how I feel. She added.

At the Abu Dhabi Open, Raducanu will face a tough opponent in the first round – fellow Grand Slam champion Vondrousova of the Czech Republic. Vondrousova has also been plagued by injuries in the 2024 season and is now trying to make a comeback. The winner of both fighters will face fourth-seeded Putintseva from Kazakhstan in the second round.

Defending champion Rybakina also returned to Abu Dhabi and is the top seed. She is also in the top half of the bracket and could meet in the semifinals if both fighters can break through the first-round barrier.(Source: Tennis Home Author: Spark)