After a breakthrough year in which she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and won the US Open, Emma Raducanu will finish 2021 at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, where Andy Murray is also appearing, in Abu Dhabi.
Although this semi-competitive event will offer little in the way of preparation for next year’s full season on the WTA Tour, it does present an opportunity to keep the Raducanu bandwagon on the road.
Who is Emma Raducanu’s next opponent?
The world No 19 will play Belinda Bencic, The Swiss Olympic champion. The 24-year-old right-hander also reached the semi-final of the US Open in 2019 and, before winning this year’s Olympics, had four other ranking titles to her name. She was the world No 4 in February last year.
What is the tournament?
The British No 1 will play Bencic as part of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, an exhibition event designed to bring top players to the UAE capital. The championship is not an official stop on either the WTA Tour or the ATP Tour and there are no ranking points available.
When is it?
Raducanu and Bencic are due on court at 8pm local time on Thursday 16 December. That’s 4pm UK time. The match between the pair is the only women’s match being staged at the three-day event, which finishes on December 18
Who else is competing in Abu Dhabi?
Raducanu and Bencic will be joined by Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Dominic Thiem, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud and Denis Shapovalov. On day one, Ruud plays Shapovalov and Thiem meets Murray. The winner of Thiem/Murray faces a semi-final against Nadal on day two and the winner of Ruud/Shapovalov plays Rublev. Day three features a third-place playoff and a men’s final.
How can I watch the Champions Of Tennis tournament on TV?
Eurosport will broadcast the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. Full details of their programming will be announced nearer the time
What is the Mubadala World Tennis Championship?
This is a three-day exhibition event, after which many players will travel directly to Australia in order to start their preparations for the Australian Open in January. Competition starts on December 16 and finishes on December 18. As well as Andy Murray the men’s players competing include US Open champion Dominic Thiem and 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.
Raducanu faces Olympic champion Belinda Bencic on the opening day. Murray is also in action on day one, against Thiem.
“I’m looking forward to returning,” said Murray, who has twice won the tournament. “With Emma also playing on day one, we will be flying the flag for British tennis and looking to put on a strong display.”
