LOS ANGELES — Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu has been handed a wild card for next month’s WTA 1000 event at Indian Wells, tournament organisers announced.
The British number one, who became an international sensation when at 18 years old she won the 2021 US Open as a qualifier, struggled with injuries and inconsistent play last year and has seen her world ranking plummet to 80.
Last month she suffered an ankle injury in Auckland before falling to American teenager Coco Gauff in the second round of the Australian Open, Reuters reported.
Raducanu was troubled by pain in her abs early on against Gauff but bounced back to force a second set tiebreak in a match that offered fans a tantalising glimpse into the future of women’s tennis.
The 20-year-old Raducanu reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon 2021 in her first Grand Slam tournament played, while she became a Grand Slam champion in her second Major tournament, at the 2021 US Open.
Raducanu started her career in an incredible way and is now considered Britain’s most promising young player. “I would have loved to be a racing driver, but I think realistically if I hadn’t been a tennis player I would have gone into finance.
I like working with numbers and I studied math and economics in high school, so I probably would have gone down that path,” Raducanu told the Porsche website. Last year, Raducanu contested her first full season on the WTA circuit.
Being a full-time professional tennis player means being away from home for long periods of time throughout the year. But Raducanu tries to see it on the positive side, since she can thus travel around the world.
“There is no doubt that there are sacrifices on the professional circuit, but I believe that in any profession you have to make sacrifices if you want to be successful.
Being away from home is one of our things, but at the same time it’s an opportunity to see the world,” said Raducanu.
Meanwhile, Raducanu last played at the Australian Open. After spraining his ankle at the ASB Classic in Auckland, Raducanu managed to put himself in a position to compete in the Australian Open.
In Melbourne, Raducanu defeated Tamara Korpatsch in the first round before suffering a straight sets loss against Cori Gauff in her next match.
After concluding her participation in the Australian Open, Raducanu declared that the mere fact of being able to compete in the Australian Open was a success, taking into account what happened in Auckland.
Her efforts on the Indian Wells court in 2022 saw her reach the round of 32 stage, before being knocked out by Croatia’s Petra Martić. Her immediate rise to fame at such a young age was no doubt tough to adapt to, making her full debut season on Tour a tough one.
Former world No. 1 John McEnroe, though, believes the Brit is set for a good year in 2023. He told Tennis365: “We just all want to see her compete and enjoy the challenge in front of her and if she does that, I’m sure she can have a great year. That’s what we all want to see.
“Ultimately, tennis is a competition and you have to find a way to deal with that. I wish Emma all the best. Let’s put this on the record. You don’t win a Grand Slam by luck. She is a great player and can come back.
Discussion about this post