Emma Raducanu was crushed by Karolina Muchova in a hard-fought match within the second spherical of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Nevertheless, the match was overshadowed after a person that “exhibited fixated behaviour” in the direction of Raducanu earlier within the week was ejected from the group.
The British wildcard was in tears as she approached the umpire’s chair after the second recreation, with the match briefly halted after Muchova took a 2-0 lead.
The Girls’s Tennis Affiliation (WTA) say the person will likely be banned from all future WTA occasions “pending a menace evaluation”.
Raducanu would go on to lose the following two video games however she fought again from 4-0 all the way down to drive a primary set tie-break, which she misplaced after lacking a set level.
Having secured an early break within the second, Muchova held off the 2021 US Open champion to seal a 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 victory.
Raducanu, who reached the third spherical of the Australian Open final month, climbed again into the world’s high 60 final yr after lacking a lot of the 2023 season following surgical procedure on each wrists and her left ankle.
Within the first spherical in Dubai, the 22-year-old ended a four-match dropping streak – the worst of her profession – with a straight-set win over Greece’s Maria Sakkari.
After Muchova broke early within the opening set, Raducanu spoke to the umpire and her Czech opponent appeared to console her earlier than the match continued.
Muchova, a runner-up on the French Open in 2023, will face McCartney Kessler after she surprised world quantity three Coco Gauff in straight units.
