Raducanu in controversy after wild-card change in Abu Dhabi

le 01/02/2025 à 16h43

1 min to read

Emma Raducanu was due to qualify for the main draw of the WTA 500 in Abu Dhabi with an invitation, but ended up with a wild-card to play directly in the main draw.

This last-minute change came as a surprise, as the tournament organizers had justified it on the grounds of withdrawals which would have enabled the player to enter the main draw.

For his part, journalist James Gray quickly investigated and found that Raducanu's wild-card had been swapped with that of Wakana Sonobe (world no. 834), recent winner of the Junior Australian Open.

The swap enabled Raducanu to avoid the qualifiers, while Sonobe made it through the 1st round on Saturday, beating Hailey Baptiste (6-3, 6-1) and will play tomorrow for a place in the main draw against Cristina Bucsa.

A decision criticized by several Internet users, since the tournament, owned by the IMG group (which represents Raducanu as a sports agency), is accused of having favored the Briton.

Dernière modification le 01/02/2025 à 16h49

Vondrousova M • WC

Raducanu E • WC

6

3

4

Raducanu Emma

29e, 1563 points

Sonobe Wakana

232e, 317 points

Sonobe W • WC

Baptiste H • 12

6

3

1

Abu Dhabi

Draw

Sad they keep handing her wild card

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56 should get ahead of 837.

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As we move to the end of this month and also closing out the year I am wishing all of those following me a Merry Christmas and a Happy/Healthy New Year.

Let's make that wish for all 2000 plus players hoping for 5 wins each day. Hoping ŵhen we open the results page to see all green, and no red. And especially NO CANCELED matches.

From me and my rotti JAZ, I bid you all good night, and see you in...

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I love tennis

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why did tennis tonic void predictions on the match between Chwalinska and Huergo at the Quito tournament? The match was played to completion and on time. If TT feels the match is one sided, and of course it was, then don't put it up for prediction. This is getting irritating.

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The finals are here, and we scramble for the best finish. I've been chasing "King" all year and I was able to shrink the spread a little. Skelp is also closing the gap.

Seasons best to all the regulars in our league.

Will you all be back in the new year.?

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Steffi Graf completed a Golden Slam (not just a career Grand Slam) when she was 19. She is the only person to accomplish that, winning the four majors plus Olympic gold the same calendar year.

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