INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Emma Raducanu returned to the tennis court docket on Thursday for the primary time since a stalker disrupted her second-round match in Dubai final month. Whereas she misplaced in her first-round match to Moyuka Uchijima 6-3, 6-2 within the spherical of 128, Raducanu stated it was “good” to simply play tennis once more and easily concentrate on the match.
“I really like Indian Wells, so I used to be having fun with, like, the preparation that I had right here for the final week,” a realistic Raducanu instructed reporters after the match.
“Yeah, I imply, I had nice help round me. I used to be feeling fairly good. I feel right now was only a little bit of a curveball. However, yeah, I suppose it is simply good, I suppose I am simply going to maneuver on.”
Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, had beforehand instructed media at Indian Wells that she had been “very distraught” after a person exhibited what the WTA described as “fixated habits” at a number of events in Dubai, together with within the stands throughout a match towards Karolina Muchova.
Raducanu was visibly upset as soon as she noticed him within the crowd and stopped play to alert the chair umpire. He was then ejected from the world and has since been barred from WTA occasions.
She was then reportedly given further safety by the WTA forward of Indian Wells.
Raducanu stated she felt protected on the court docket throughout Thursday’s match and did not blame the incident for the loss.
“I did not have what occurred in Dubai in my head in any respect right now,” Raducanu stated. “I feel, if something, like a little bit of a scarcity of preparation on the tennis court docket, taking part in somebody who performed fairly good in these situations, I imply, extraordinarily awkward within the wind right here.”
Raducanu, at the moment ranked No. 55, will subsequent play on the Miami Open later this month. She’s going to spend the interim working along with her new coach, Vladimir Platenik, who arrived to the positioning simply days earlier than her opener within the California desert.
The pair has but to do a lot collectively, however Raducanu described him as “very critical” and “very skilled” and somebody who “will get on with it.”
Raducanu has gained three matches in six event appearances this season — and stated she may “enhance each space of my sport” — however sounded centered on the long run.
“I feel I simply must, yeah, hold attempting to place one foot in entrance of the opposite and never look again an excessive amount of,” she stated.