Emma Raducanu looked visibly distraught after going 2-0 down
Emma Raducanu broke down in tears during her straight-sets defeat to Karolina Muchova at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday.
The British tennis star ended the worst losing run of her entire career on Sunday with an impressive 6-4 6-2 victory over Greek star Maria Sakkari.
Raducanu was unable to reach the last 16 in the United Arab Emirates, though, as Muchova produced a 7-6 6-4 win over the 2021 US Open winner.
After falling behind 2-0 in the opening set of the match, Raducanu looked visibly distraught and was spotted wiping away tears with her towel while stood courtside.
The 22-year-old, who was seen struggling with her breathing, eventually gestured to the umpire that she was able to continue and was applauded as she made her way back to the baseline.
Despite suffering defeat in a rollercoaster battle – Raducanu actually won more overall points than her opponent – in what was a brave effort against an opponent ranked 44 places above her in the current WTA standings.
Czech world No.17 star Muchova was 5-2 up in the first set but had to save set points in a highly-competitive match against world No.61 Raducanu.
Emma Raducanu burst into tears early on
Ultimately, it was Muchova who took her chances and won the big points to eliminate Raducanu from the Dubai Tennis Championships.
It is currently unclear as to why Raducanu burst into tears early-on in the match – with the Briton appearing to be in some sort of discomfort as she emotionally spoke with the umpire – and Muchova coming over to the side of the court to make sure she was okay.
‘You never want to see a player in tears on court,’ said a Sky Sports commentator as the incident unfolded. ‘This is meant to be a fun game.’
Raducanu is currently playing without a full-time coach after Nick Cavaday stepped away from the role due to health reasons following the Australian Open.
Karolina Muchova defeated Britain’s Emma Raducanu 7-6 6-4
Raducanu started the year in fine form, reaching the third round at the Australian Open with impressive wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova and Amanda Anisimova.
But the former world No.10 then suffered four defeats in a row, losing to Iga Swaitek at Melbourne Park before first-round exits in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha to Cristina Bucsa, Marketa Vondrousova and Alexandrova.
Speaking after she ended that losing streak with victory over Sakkari, Raducanu said: ‘I was really pleased with how I fought and competed against Maria.
‘She’s a top player, been as high as three in the world. I’m just really proud of my performance.’
After losing to Muchova, Raducanu is now expected to jet home to the United Kingdom to get herself ready for Indian Wells and the Miami Open.