Emma Raducanu was stunned in the first round of the Dubai Championships after being handed a last-minute change of opponent. The British No. 1 was due to face Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto last on Court 2 on Monday. But Cocciaretto withdrew hours before they were due to take the court and was replaced by lucky loser Antonia Ruzic. It seemed to throw Raducanu off, and the world No. 25 suffered a shock 6-1 5-7 6-2 defeat despite an admirable effort to come back in the second set.

Ruzic was on a five-match losing streak coming into her clash with Raducanu, and had suffered a three-set defeat to Rebecca Sramkova in the first round. But the world No. 25, who suffered with a chest infection at the end of the recent WTA 250 event in Cluj, and again last week in Doha, appeared to be struggling with an illness again as she called the trainer at the end of the first set and took tablets. And she ultimately ran out of gas after forcing a decider, losing the last six games in a row.

Playing for the first time after she retired mid-match in the first round of last week’s WTA 1000 in Doha, Raducanu got off to a tough start when she blew a 40-0 lead in her opening service game to get broken. The Brit was constantly under pressure in the first set, facing break points in all three of her service games. She held in the fourth game to get on the board, but the first set flew by in just half an hour as Raducanu hit 15 unforced errors to just seven from the world No. 67.

Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

The former US Open winner called the trainer at the end of the first set and was seen taking tablets, a sign that the chest infection could still be lingering. The medicine started kicking in, and Raducanu had five break points in Ruzic’s opening service game in set two – but she couldn’t take them.

The world No. 25 had another chance that she couldn’t capitalise on. But Ruzic only needed one opportunity, and she pounced, breaking in the seventh game as she fired winners down the court.

Raducanu was made to work as she served to stay in the match, but she got on the board and, at the 11th hour, finally earned a break of the Ruzic serve, giving herself a lifeline as she levelled the score at 5-5 as she fired down a return, forcing an error from the lucky loser. The tide had turned, and the Brit looked in control for the first time as she held with ease, and then reeled off her fourth straight game, breaking to force a decider.

The 23-year-old continued her assault on the Ruzic serve, and the world No. 67 finally succumbed in a lengthy game, making a costly mistake on Raducanu’s fourth break point to gift her the game. Just when it seemed that the Brit was running away with it, the lucky loser suddenly broke back.

The pendulum swung again, and the momentum was back with the lucky loser, who broke again when Raducanu hit a forehand into the net, taking the lead in the third and final set. And the match quickly started to fall away from the world No. 25, whose energy dropped as she sent the ball long to get broken again.

Raducanu’s 2-0 lead early in the decider felt like it was worlds away as Ruzic stepped up to serve for the match, starting the game with her 10th ace. After losing six straight games from the end of the second set to the start of the third, the lucky loser won six games on the bounce to earn the biggest win of her career over the world No. 25.

It was a match reminiscent of some of Raducanu’s losses towards the end of last season, when she ran out of gas at the end of tight three-setters against Barbora Krejcikova, Jessica Pegula, and Zhu Lin. The British No. 1 is also still competing without a coach after parting ways with Francisco Roig following the Australian Open. She has been travelling with Alexis Canter and with physiotherapist Emma Stewart, who also works on her strength and conditioning.

After winning four matches in a row to reach the Transylvania Open final earlier this month – her first final since that historic 2021 US Open triumph – Raducanu has now lost three on the bounce, albeit one via retirement.

This was also Raducanu’s first competitive appearance in Dubai following a concerning incident in her second-round match here last year. The Brit was left in tears early in the match when she spotted a man who previously “exhibited fixed behaviour” in the stands. He was removed, and Raducanu played on but lost 7-6(6) 6-4 to Karolina Muchova. At the end of last season, the 23-year-old said she had “gotten over” it.

EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page