Osaka and Raducanu comebacks continue with difficult draw in Abu Dhabi

Both players could face top seeds early on at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in just their third tournament back following lengthy spells away from tour

Image Credit: Zuma / Panoramic

Jamie Malachy

February 3, 2024

Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu have both landed in dangerous areas of the draw at the upcoming Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, with top seeds lurking in the second round for both players.

The pair continue their highly anticipated comebacks to the WTA tour next week as they take to the match court in Abu Dhabi in their first appearances since the Australian Open.

As both are making used of wildcards to enter the tournament, they were always going to be at the mercy of the draw – especially in a stacked field for the 500-level hard-court event.

World No 5 Elena Rybakina and No 6 Ons Jabeur are top seeds in Abu Dhabi, and they will meet Osaka and Raducanu respectively in the second round, should the pair both make it through their first-round encounters.

Main draw in Abu Dhabi (WTA 500), where Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur are the top seeds.

Naomi Osaka will open against a qualifier. The winner will face Rybakina in 2R.

Emma Raducanu will open against Marie Bouzkova. The winner will face Jabeur in 2R. pic.twitter.com/N86ZEfLzAP
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) February 3, 2024

Osaka, who fell in the first round of the Australian Open to Caroline Garcia, has been handed a first-round match-up against a qualifier.

The Briton, meanwhile, who went down in the second round after a valiant effort against Yafan Wang in Melbourne, faces a considerably tougher test when she takes on the Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova.

Elsewhere in the draw, Maria Sakkari, Barbora Krejcikova and Garcia also return to action following their exploits in Australia as the WTA season begins to swing fully into gear.

Qualifying in already underway in Abu Dhabi, with the main-draw event kicking off on 5 September.

It marks the start of the Middle-East swing on both the WTA and the ATP, as the prestigious 1000-level events in Doha and Dubai follow hot on the heels of Abu Dhabi.

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