Emma Raducanu bursts into tears during rollercoaster defeat to Karolina Muchova in Dubai

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She had a good cry in the aftermath of her straight-sets loss to Karolina Muchova at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday.

star Maria Sakkari.

Open winner.

After going down 2-0 in the opening set of the match, Raducanu looked visibly down and was spotted wiping away tears with her towel while standing courtside.

The 22-year-old, who was seen struggling with her breathing, eventually indicated to the umpire that she was okay to keep going and was clapped as she made her way back to the baseline.

Despite enduring a tough loss in a back-and-forth contest – Raducanu actually accumulated more overall points than her opponent – in a courageous performance against an opponent ranked 44 spots above her in the current WTA rankings.

Czech world No.17 star Muchova was 5-2 up in the first set but had to save set points in a highly competitive match against world No.61 Raducanu.

In the end, it was Muchova who took her chances and won the crucial points to knock Raducanu out of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

It's unclear why Raducanu suddenly broke down in tears early on in the match – with the Brit appearing to be in some distress as she talked to the umpire – and Muchova checking in on her from the other side of the court to make sure she was alright.

‘You don't want to see a player in tears on the footy ground,’ said a Sky Sports commentator as the incident happened. ‘This is meant to be an enjoyable game.’

Raducanu is currently competing without a full-time coach after Nick Cavaday stepped down from the role due to health issues following the Australian Open.

Reaching the third round at the Australian Open with impressive wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova and Amanda Anisimova.

But the former world No.10 then suffered four consecutive losses, losing to Iga Swiatek at Melbourne Park before being knocked out in the first round in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha to Cristina Bucsa, Marketa Vondrousova and Angelina Alexandrova.

She said after that win finished her losing streak: “I was really pleased with how I fought and competed against Maria.”

‘She's a real champion, reached as high as number three in the world rankings. I'm just extremely proud of my achievements.’

After going down to Muchova, Raducanu is now expected to head back to the UK to prepare for Indian Wells and the Miami Open.