Emma Raducanu ended her winless run, and justified her latest wild-card invitation, as she defeated former world No 3 Maria Sakkari in straight sets.

Raducanu’s decision to accept yet another Middle-Eastern wild card had raised a few eyebrows, given that she had already suffered defeats by Cristina Bucsa, Marketa Vondrousova and Ekaterina Alexandrova since her creditable run at last month’s Australian Open.

Some of us wondered whether it might be better to drop down to qualifying level in Dubai and build some momentum, rather than ploughing straight into a high-quality main draw.

But Raducanu stuck to her usual approach – this was the 13th time in her last 18 tournaments that she had accepted a wild-card invitation from the organisers, thus bypassing her moderate ranking of No 60 – and played a decent match to deliver a 6-4, 6-2 win over Sakkari.

Their head-to-head record now stands at 3-0 in favour of Raducanu, who memorably defeated the same opponent in the semi-finals of her triumphant run to the 2021 US Open title.

For this meeting in Dubai, Raducanu’s serve was firing at a level we have not seen yet this season, suggesting that she has spent plenty of time fine-tuning her action in practice. This shot came to her rescue at the pivotal moment of the match. Raducanu found herself 0-30 down as she tried to close out the first set, but hit two successive lines with her serve to frustrate Sakkari, who could not return either delivery.

While Sakkari has gathered plenty of points and prize money in over a decade on the WTA Tour, she has a reputation for being shaky under pressure. Raducanu stayed solid and defended well, often making her opponent play an extra shot, and was rewarded with her first victory since she defeated Amanda Anisimova – a title-winner in Doha on Saturday – exactly a month ago.

The match underlined the fickle nature of the WTA Tour. With the exception of her improvement on serve, Raducanu’s level did not feel enormously different to what we had seen in her two previous defeats.

The critical factor was a less punishing draw. While Raducanu might have delivered a cleaner performance than in her last couple of matches, this slight improvement was not as influential as Sakkari’s own lack of form and confidence.

Sakkari may have developed a significant profile within the game, based on the three years she spent in the world’s top 10 between September 2021 and September 2024, but she has fallen away lately and her record against top-100 opposition this season now stands at a lamentable two wins from 10 attempts.

When Raducanu most needed it, there was usually a soft Sakkari error to be found. What a contrast this was to her last couple of matches. Raducanu’s previous opponent Alexandrova had been absolutely ruthless in Doha, delivering a stream of devastating winners off both wings. Just to drive the point home, Alexandrova followed up that win by ambushing world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the next round.

The standard of women’s tennis this season has been noticeably high across the board. Against the likes of Alexandrova and Vondrousova – the former Wimbledon champion who also came out firing against Raducanu in Abu Dhabi – it is no longer enough to play steadily and cleanly, which is Raducanu’s preferred mode. This merely turns you into an ideal stooge, inviting your opponent to deliver all the punchlines.

The difference on Sunday was that the dice fell kindly for Raducanu, as she came up against a player who lacked accuracy when it counted. Sakkari committed 32 unforced errors to Raducanu’s economical 12, and that effectively decided the outcome.

Raducanu is clearly undervalued at No 60 in the world – a position that owes much to her various injury issues. But if she is to elevate her ranking towards the top 20, she cannot afford to leave as many neutral balls in the middle of the court as she did against Sakkari. A more decisive opponent would put those opportunities away.

We should not get carried away by one victory, especially as this level of performance is unlikely to be enough to oust Raducanu’s second-round opponent: the former French Open finalist Karolina Muchova, who is the 14th seed in Dubai.

But Raducanu’s fans will be hoping that she can build on this win, continuing to serve strongly and deploy her aggressive return – which remains the strongest element of her game – while also adding more depth and power to her bread-and-butter groundstrokes.

If nothing else, Raducanu is showing some backbone. She has thus far stuck to her plan to play all the main WTA tournaments in 2025 – something she has never managed before because of all those ailments.

If she can keep totting up the matches, and maintain the fight which manifested itself here in numerous fist-pumps and shouts of “Come on”, she will grow sharper as the season continues.

07:01 PM GMT

‘Really proud of my performance’

Emma Raducanu on her match against Maria Sakkari: “I just tried to stay really focused on the point in front of me. There were some momentum shifts throughout the match and when I got broken twice early in the sets I just regrouped really well and I managed to break back [immediately] both times.

“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.”

On her 100 per cent win rate against the Greek: “I think in a way we play quite similar, she’s really athletic. I’m not necessarily going to give all my tactics away, it’s just a very difficult match every time we play so I’m happy to have won on all these occasions in all big tournaments and very happy to get through to the next round.”

06:25 PM GMT

Raducanu’s next opponent

Karolina Muchova has five wins under her belt in 2025. The 28-year-old was the top seed at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz (a WTA 500) but lost in the semi-final to Ekaterina Alexandrova who went on to win the tournament.

Muchova, currently ranked 17th in the world rankings, has been as high as world No 8. Like Raducanu, the talented Czechia player has one WTA title to her name.

06:16 PM GMT

Raducanu-Sakkari matchup

Raducanu now holds a commanding 3-0 head-to-head lead over Sakkari. The former world No 3 has never won a set against the Briton.

06:03 PM GMT

Raducanu the night owl

05:44 PM GMT

Stylish way to finish

05:42 PM GMT

Muchova next

Emma Raducanu can look forward to a second-round encounter with 14th seed Karolina Muchova from Czechia. This will be their first meeting.

05:37 PM GMT

Raducanu wins 6-4, 6-2!

Sakkari hits a forehand error to start things off and then another to go down 30-0. Raducanu then hits a forehand long to gift the Greek a point at 30-15.

Sakkari then gets back to 30-30 after following in her backhand approach and finishing with a nice drop volley.

Raducanu hits a clean backhand down the line to bring up her first match point and she seals it with an ace!

Fantastic match from the Briton who beats the former world No 3 6-4, 6-2!

05:31 PM GMT

Sakkari* 4-6, 2-5 Raducanu (denotes server)

Sakkari hits her 25th winner of the contest to get things started. Raducanu gets to 30-15 with an aggressive return off the back of a Sakkari second serve.

The Briton then pounces on another Sakkari second serve and then draws an error from the qualifier to have a look at another break point and she takes full advantage as Sakkari dumps a backhand into the net.

Raducanu will serve for the match after this change of ends.

05:27 PM GMT

Sakkari 4-6, 2-4 *Raducanu (denotes server)

Sakkari hits a clean forehand winner off a Raducanu second serve to get things started. Raducanu finds the line with a second serve out wide to go 15-15.

Sakkari tries to take on the Briton’s first serve but forces her return wide. Raducanu stays in a long rally and eventually sees Sakkari hit a backhand long to go 40-30. The Briton holds with the old balls to take a 4-2 lead.

That was a good service game from Raducanu.

05:21 PM GMT

Sakkari* 4-6, 2-3 Raducanu (denotes server)

Double fault (first of the match from either player) at 30-30 sees Sakkari give Raducanu a look at a break point.

A lengthy rally with some great corner hitting from Sakkari sees the Greek save break point and then she finds an ace in the next point to give her advantage.

Raducanu then has a look at another break point following an error from Sakkari and the Briton does break again!

05:14 PM GMT

Sakkari 4-6, 2-2 *Raducanu (denotes server)

Sakkari wins the opening point after a deep forehand approach leaves Raducanu stretching. Raducanu then comes in for a volley but mistimed her approach as Sakkari passes.

A good serve out wide sees Raducanu save one of the break points against her but she is unable to save the second as Sakkari steps in to hit a nice forehand winner cross. And we are back on serve in the second set.

05:09 PM GMT

Sakkari* 4-6, 1-2 Raducanu (denotes server)

Sakkari wins the opening point and the second with a nice forehand down the line that had too much on it for Raducanu. The Briton then wins her first point in the game with a lovely backhand volley drive down the line.

Sakkari saves break point with a nice backhand down the line to halt the momentum Raducanu was building. Good quality play from the baseline sees Sakkari win the point with a deep backhand. Raducanu then passes the Greek with a lovely backhand down the line.

Another quality exchange sees Sakkari win the point with a forehand winner and get on the board for the first time in this second set.

05:01 PM GMT

Sakkari 4-6, 0-2 *Raducanu (denotes server)

Raducanu wins the opening point before Sakkari wins the next to go 15-15. Sakkari then steps in and hits a clean forehand winner following a short second serve from Raducanu.

The Briton, who has been serving really well throughout, keeps up the pressure with another body serve which jams up Sakkari.

After being taken to deuce, Raducanu does hold to back up the break and go up 2-0 in this second set.

04:56 PM GMT

Raducanu fighting well

Well, Raducanu avoids the indignity of three successive sets lost from 3-1 up. She did allow the scoreline to slip back to 3-3 but then Sakkari gave up a second crucial break. The pattern of play has been far from comfortable. Raducanu is not showing much pace or depth on her groundstrokes, and inviting a lot of pressure in the baseline rallies. On the upside, she is fighting for all she is worth, and serving well today. The two serves that hit the lines from 0-30 in the last game of the set were crucial.

04:56 PM GMT

Sakkari* 4-6, 0-1 Raducanu (denotes server)

Sakkari wins the opening point before Raducanu hits a clean forehand winner down the line to go 15-15. The Briton then wins the next three points and breaks Sakkari again to start proceedings in the second set.

04:51 PM GMT

Sakkari 4-6 *Raducanu (denotes server)

Sakkari wins the opening point after drawing a forehand error from Raducanu. The Briton then hits a backhand long as Sakkari looks to pounce in a must-win game. Raducanu finds the line with a good second serve to register her first point in the game before hitting an ace to draw level at 30-30.

Sakkari then hits a wild backhand to give Raducanu set point and the Briton takes it with a lovely serve down the tee that left Sakkari stretching but unable to reach it.

Good set of tennis from the Briton!

04:45 PM GMT

Sakkari* 4-5 Raducanu (denotes server)

Sakkari hits a forehand into the net at 15-30 but then hits her first ace at 30-30 as she looks to ask the Briton the question.

Raducanu then steps in and attacks a Sakkari second serve to take the game to deuce but Sakkari wins the next two points and secures the game.

Raducanu will serve for the first set after the sitdown.

04:41 PM GMT

Sakkari 3-5 *Raducanu (denotes server)

Big first serve to get things started for Raducanu. The Briton then goes up 30-0 after drawing another error from Sakkari.

Raducanu holds to 15 to back up the break. She is a game away from taking this opening set.

04:36 PM GMT

Sakkari* 3-4 Raducanu (denotes server)

Raducanu races to 0-30 lead as Sakkari looks rushed. A lovely pick up from the Briton then sees her pass Sakkari to go up 0-40. Three break points for the Briton and she breaks again as Sakkari dumps a backhand into the net.

04:33 PM GMT

Sakkari 3-3 *Raducanu (denotes server)

Sakkari wins the opening point with a clever backhand volley in behind Raducanu. After a long baseline exchange and some loopy forehands from both, Sakkari goes up 0-30. Raducanu then finds her spot with a nice first serve get on the board and follows it up with a nice midcourt forehand winner to get back to 30-30.

Sakkari then blocks back a body serve and draws an error from Raducanu to get her first break-point look that Raducanu snuffs out with another well placed first serve. Second break point opportunity for Sakkari after she draws another error from the Briton and this time she does take it. We are back on serve!

04:26 PM GMT

Sakkari* 2-3 Raducanu (denotes server)

After two quick points on Sakkari’s serve, the qualifier wins the next couple with a combination of powerful and precise forehands from the baseline. Sakkari has definitely found her footing in the contest now but Raducanu still has the break.

04:24 PM GMT

Sakkari 1-3 *Raducanu (denotes server)

A combination of a Sakkari winner and Raducanu error sees the opening two points split. Raducanu then takes a 30-15 lead before Sakkari pegs her back to 30-30. A good body serve from Raducanu then catches Sakkari off guard and the Briton is able to hold again after hitting a forehand winner in the proceeding point.

04:18 PM GMT

Sakkari* 1-2 Raducanu (denotes server)

Raducanu wins the opening point again on Sakkari’s serve and then the second after the qualifier sprays another backhand wide. Sakkari then hits a clean backhand down the line as she looks to settle into the contest.

From 0-30 down Sakkari holds to get on the board for the first time. Raducanu leads 2-1 with the break.

04:14 PM GMT

Sakkari 0-2 *Raducanu (denotes server)

Long backhand exchange sees Raducanu come out on top as she wins the opening point on serve. Sakkari then scuffs a short forehand long as Raducanu takes a 30-0 lead. The Greek qualifier then wins her first point of the contest off the back of a Raducanu error.

Raducanu wins the next with a clever volley after following in a lovely timed lob. Another error from the Briton sees Sakkari sneak another point but Raducanu then seals the game and backs up the break with a volley winner.

04:09 PM GMT

Sakkari* 0-1 Raducanu (denotes server)

Nice backhand winner from Raducanu to get things started, 0-15. Sakkari then hits a backhand out to go down 0-30. Another great forehand from the baseline sees Raducanu take a 40-0 lead and she breaks to love. Great start from the Briton.

04:06 PM GMT

Warm-up over

Players have finished warming up and we are under way

04:01 PM GMT

Coin toss

Sakkari won the toss and has elected to serve.

03:58 PM GMT

Players are on court

Emma Raducanu is first out on court followed by Maria Sakkari.

03:49 PM GMT

Svitolina takes out 15th seed Kalinskaya

Elina Svitolina gets the better of 15th seed Anna Kalinskaya in straight sets – 6-1, 6-2. The Ukrainian will play Clara Tauson or Rebecca Sramkova in the second round.

03:39 PM GMT

Raducanu takes on Sakkari in Dubai

Good afternoon and welcome to coverage of Emma Raducanu versus Maria Sakkari in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Raducanu will continue to try to arrest her losing run against the best players in the world after taking another wild card into the WTA 1000 event.

The former US Open champion is enduring the worst sequence of results in her career having lost four successive matches.

Raducanu has not managed to capitalise on wild card entries into tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha over the last two weeks, losing in the first round both times to Marketa Vondrousova and an in-form Ekaterina Alexandrova respectively.

Those losses followed another first-round defeat by Cristina Bucsa in Singapore and a hammering by Iga Swiatek after she had reached the third round of the Australian Open for the first time.

Alexandrova went on to reach the semi-finals in Doha, and Raducanu faces yet another tough draw, against former world No 3 Sakkari. The current world No 29 from Greece was beaten by Raducanu in the semi-final of the 2021 US Open, which the Briton went on to win.

The pair met at Wimbledon last year where Raducanu again came out on top in straight sets.The Briton leads their head-to-head 2-0.