Emma Raducanu suffered a first-round loss at the Singapore Open on Monday in her first match since splitting with coach Nick Cavaday.
Cristina Bucsa, ranked world No.101, conjured up a 5-7 7-5 7-5 over the British tennis star in Raducanu’s first match since her Australian Open exit.
Raducanu, ranked world No.56, enjoyed an impressive run to the third round at this year’s Grand Slam tournament at Melbourne Park.
She dumped out 26th-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova and followed it up with another victory over a higher-ranked opponent, Amanda Anisimova.
A third-round clash with second-seed Iga Swiatek proved to be a step too far for Raducanu, though, and after her elimination, it was announced that she was splitting with her coach Cavaday.
Cavaday stepped back from the role last week to ‘prioritise getting back to full health’, leaving Raducanu without a coach.
She turned up at the Singapore Open alongside fitness specialist Yutaka Nakamura and was the favourite for her opener with Bucsa, but it was the Moldovan-Spanish star who came out on top in a three-hour battle.
More to follow…