Emma Raducanu will take on a familiar face at the start of her Qatar Open campaign in Doha.

The experienced Ekaterina Alexandrova stands between Raducanu and a second-round match between world No 1 and top seed Aryna Sabalenka.

We look at all there is to know about the player looking to end Raducanu’s campaign at the first hurdle.

Raducanu loss – and response

This is of course not the first time Alexandrova has faced Raducanu – with their last meeting coming just a few weeks back at the Australian Open.

It was the Brit that prevailed 7-6(4), 7-6(2) in an often scrappy affair, sending the 26th seed home after just one match.

However, Alexandrova bounced back in style to win her fifth career title in Linz last week.

Twice a runner-up at the event – including in 2024 – the fourth seed defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Petra Martic to reach the last four, where she breezed past top seed Karolina Muchova.

The Russian would prevail in a topsy-turvy final against Dayana Yastremska, battling past the fifth seed 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 to triumph.

Having fallen to 30th in the rankings, that WTA 500 triumph saw her move back to world No 25.

Career highlights

Alexandrova’s first career title came at the Shenzhen Open back in 2020, where she beat a young Elena Rybakina in the final.

The 30-year-old went on to claim back-to-back ‘s-Hertogenbosch titles on grass in 2022 and 2023, alongside winning the 2023 Korea Open – before her Linz victory a week ago.

Outside of her five titles, the Russian has reached a further four finals; in Linz in 2018 and 2024, at the Kremlin Cup in 2021, and the Tennis in the Land in 2023.

Alexandrova was also part of the Russian Tennis Federation team that lifted the Billie Jean King Cup title for 2020-21, though has not been allowed to compete since due to the war in Ukraine.

Across her career, she has picked up a total of 14 top-10 wins, beating some of the biggest names of recent years.

Alexandrova most notably beat then-world No 1 Iga Swiatek at the Miami Open in 2024, and would then beat world No 5 Jessica Pegula in the following round.

The Russian also defeated Rybakina in 2024 and has further wins over the likes of Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka across her career.

Despite consistent success on the WTA Tour, Alexandrova has struggled at Grand Slams.

She has only once reached the second week of a major – at Wimbledon in 2023 – and has a 30-31 record, with her loss to Raducanu in Melbourne her 11th in the opening round of a Slam.

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Doha pedigree

Alexandrova has achieved some good results at WTA 1000 level previously, most notably her Miami Open semi-final run last year and her run to the last four of the 2022 Madrid Open.

However, Doha has not been her happiest hunting ground.

She lost in the third round to eventual champion Swiatek a year ago, and was beaten in the opening round in 2020 by Amanda Anisimova.

Alexandrova was also beaten in the second round when the tournament was a WTA 500 event in 2023, falling to Maria Sakkari.

It will be just Raducanu’s second appearance in Doha, having fallen in the opening round to Anhelina Kalinina in 2024.

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