Emma Raducanu has suffered a straight-set defeat in the opening round of the Qatar Open.

The British No. 2 was downed 6-3, 7-5 by Ekaterina Alexandrova.

The defeat marks Raducanu’s third first-round exit in three weeks having missed out on a win in both Singapore and Abu Dhabi.

Alexandrova, who won the Linz Open last week, fought back from a 3-1 deficit in both sets to secure the win. Raducanu started strongly with early breaks of serve but ultimately appeared to struggle with confidence and squandered the lead.

The last time the pair met was at the Australian Open in January where Raducanu edged the win.

Alexandrova will now face the world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Tuesday.