Breaking News: Qatar Open chaos as Emma Raducanu handed two opponents in two minutes in botched draw

Qatar Open chaos as Emma Raducanu handed two opponents in two minutes in botched draw

Qatar Open organisers were forced to restart the draw after a technical mishap saw Emma Raducanu handed two different opponents in the space of a few minutes.

Taking place in the Qatari capital of Doha, Raducanu had originally been paired up against Anna Kalinskaya, but when the draw was posted online, the wildcard’s name appeared next to Ekaterina Alexandrova instead.

According to The i Paper, the confusion stemmed from the drawing of all the chips representing players, only for there to still be an empty line on the 56-line draw sheet.

It’s explained by a human error while inputting the names, but in order to preserve the integrity of the draw process, the organisers decided the 40 unseeded players who instead be reallocated.

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There had been a similar problem at last year’s Wimbledon when Beatriz Haddad Maia’s corresponding number was pulled out, only for Mirra Andreeva’s name to appear in the draw.

Back in Doha, it means Raducanu will play against Alexandrova as her opponent for the opening round – a repeat of the 22-year-old’s Australian Open first-round clash.

If history repeats itself and Raducanu defeats Alexandrova, her reward will be a meeting with Australian Open runner-up Aryna Sabalenka, who has been handed a bye into the second round.