Emma Raducanu has picked up her third consecutive defeat after Marketa Vondrousova handed her a 6-3 6-4 defeat in the Abu Dhabi Open first round.
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After seeing her wildcard being upgraded from qualifying to a main draw one, the Briton made a good start to her opener and broke the Czech for an early 3-1 lead.
But then, the 2021 US Open champion got broken back instantly in a marathon fifth game.
Losing her serve in that particular game proved to be costly for Raducanu as she mentally collapsed and Vondrousiva finished the opening set on a five-game winning run.
Early in the first set, the 2021 US Open champion missed out on a total of four break points across the first and third games.
After not converting her break point chances, the British tennis player lost her serve in the eighth game.
While Vondrousova didn't manage to serve for the match at 5-3, the 2023 Wimbledon winner claimed her fifth break of the match in the 10th game to complete her two-set win.
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Before Abu Dhabi, Raducanu was annihilated 1-6 0-6 by Iga Swiatek in the Australian Open first round and she also lost to Cristina Bucsa in the Singapore first round last week.
Meanwhile, Vondrousova plays next against No. 4 seed Yulia Putintseva.
What will Raducanu do next?
In Abu Dhabi, the former world No. 10 played as a wildcard.
But since she didn't make the main draw cut for either of the two upcoming WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha and Dubai, it is unclear what she will do next.
I have no idea. I'm going to take it week by week. See how I am, see how the body is and see what kind of plan we put in place, I guess," Raducanu said a couple of days ago when asked about plans after Abu Dhabi.
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"But Im not thinking too far ahead, just trying to take it day by day in the current situations."
She is now just 2-3 after her first three tournaments of the year.
