India’s Ankita Raina put up a tough fight but went down in the first round of the qualifiers at the Dubai Tennis Championship, a WTA Premier event which will see many world top-20 players compete in the main draw.

Raina, India’s top-ranked singles player on the WTA circuit, lost 4-6, 4-6 to world No 44 Samantha Stosur of Australia in an hour and forty minutes.

Stosur, a former Top 5 player, hit eight aces and won 74% of her first serve points. Ranked 253, Raina was let down by her serve at crucial moments, saving only 12 of the 20 break points she faced. However, she did break Stosur back in four games.

Despite the loss, it was an important match for Raina, as making it to the Qualifiers of a WTA Premier tournament is a positive step.

The 25-year-old is coming off a strong run in the Fed Cup having been unbeaten against much-higher ranked players. In the ties that India lost, she was the saving grace beating Yuliya Putintseva, who is ranked 81 but was 27 last year, and China’s world number 120 Lin Zhu.