Britain’s Emma Raducanu will no longer need to get through qualifying at the Abu Dhabi Open, as she has been offered a late wildcard into the main draw.

The 22-year-old was set to compete in qualifying for the first time since her fairytale run to the 2021 US Open title.

But Raducanu received a late invitation to the main draw and will face 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, of the Czech Republic, in the first round on Tuesday.

Raducanu is travelling to Abu Dhabi with her fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura, but is without a coach following Nick Cavaday’s decision to step down for health reasons.

The world number 56 reached the third round of the Australian Open, but then lost a three-hour first-round match to Cristina Bucsa at the Singapore Open last Monday.

In New York four years ago, Raducanu won three matches in qualifying and seven in the main draw without dropping a set to become the first qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam title.

The stunning nature of that achievement led to many wildcard invitations into tournaments, but there have been times when her ranking was so low that entering qualifying seemed a strong option.

“I think playing qualies is not something that I am against,” Raducanu told BBC Sport last August.

“If you get through those two rounds you feel you’re adjusted to the court. If you’re playing a seed, you have a better eye for the ball, a better feel – it’s not that I am against it at all.”

World number five Elena Rybakina, Australian Open semi-finalist Paula Badosa and British number one Katie Boulter are among the players with entry into the main draw in Abu Dhabi.

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