‘I need to cut myself some slack,’ says US Open champion Emma Raducanu after losing her opener at Indian Wells

Emma Raducanu says she needs to “cut myself some slack” after her return to the court following her sensational US Open triumph ended in defeat in Indian Wells.
The 18-year-old could not reproduce the level that she produced in New York in the Californian desert, going down 6-2, 6-4 to Belarussian Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
This was just her third WTA Tour event, and she has yet to win a match, and she now has to get used to life on Tour and learn to deal with opponents – and defeats – like this on a weekly basis.
Second Top 50 win of the season 🌟
Aliaksandra Sasnovich takes out Raducanu in straight-sets!#BNPPO21 pic.twitter.com/3aK1csyN2r
— wta (@WTA) October 9, 2021
Expectations may have been high externally, but Raducanu is mature enough to know that everything is not going to be plain sailing.
“I think it’s going to take me time to adjust really to what’s going on,” she said. “I mean, I’m still so new to everything.
“Like the experiences that I’m going through right now, even though I might not feel 100 per cent amazing right now, I know they’re for the greater good.
“For the bigger picture, I’ll be thanking this moment. So, that’s the lesson I think, that you can easily get sucked into being so focused on the result and getting disappointed.
“I mean, I’m 18 years old. I need to cut myself some slack.
“I’m still very, very new to the Tour. I think that experience just comes from playing week in, week out and experiencing all these different things.
hey from the desert!🌵😆 pic.twitter.com/qZIOtOl7Iw
— Emma Raducanu (@EmmaRaducanu) October 3, 2021
“I’m kind of glad that what happened today happened so I can learn and take it as a lesson. So going forward, I’ll just have more experienced banked.”
Raducanu claimed glory in New York with an all-out attacking style, but she was unable to replicate it in alien conditions, spraying a raft of unforced errors and getting caught out by Sasnovich’s plucky defence.
She wrestled back some momentum in the second set and a comeback looked on the cards as she led 4-2, but the errors returned and the Belarussian, a former top 30 player, rattled off four games to clinch victory.
Asked what the crucial factor at 4-2 in the second set was, she replied: “Well, her experience probably.
“She’s been on Tour, probably been 4-2 down like hundreds of times whereas I’ve been 4-2 up. It’s my third WTA tournament this year. I mean, it will come in time. Just got to not rush it and keep going and get my head back to the drawing board really.
🇧🇾🇧🇾🇧🇾
Sasnovich puts out her best to sink Raducanu 6-2, 6-4 to get her second Top 50 win of the season.#BNPPO21 pic.twitter.com/tnUIiGl47Q
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) October 9, 2021
“You definitely get sharp by playing matches. I’m not match-tight right now. Like I haven’t played a competition in a month, since the US Open. That will just come just playing week in, week out.
“I didn’t go in there putting any pressure on myself because in my mind I’m so inexperienced that all these, I’m just taking it all in.
“You’re going to have highs and you’re always going to have some lows where you’re disappointed with how you performed. Aliaksandra played an extremely great match.
“She has played, you could tell she’s more experienced than me. She went out there and executed her game plan better than I did. She, of course, deserved to win that.”
Latest
-
News
Novak Djokovic ‘set to be handed key Ryder Cup role’ as he flies into Rome
Novak Djokovic could have a a big role to play with Team Europe at the Ryder Cup in Rome.
-
Tennis News
Carlos Alcaraz set to face rival in exhibition event; Caroline Wozniacki to play Maria Sakkari
Carlos Alcaraz is set to face a rival in an exhibition match in Mexico, while Caroline Wozniacki will take on Maria Sakkari.
-
Tennis News
Piers Morgan rips into Emma Raducanu for taking part in ‘woke and absurd’ advert
Piers Morgan has turned his verbal fire on Raducanu after she took part in a HSBC advert.
-
Tennis News
Tennis legend backs Novak Djokovic to play ‘as long as the young guys don’t want to beat him’
A tennis great “does not blame” Novak Djokovic for wanting to continue playing for “as long as these young guys don’t want” to beat him.
-
Tennis News
‘I’d love to see Rafael Nadal play one more time – he’s a student of the game’, says tennis great
A tennis legend would love to see fellow great Rafael Nadal play “one more time” before the Spaniard retires.
-
Tennis News
Roger Federer ready to ‘return to the court’ as he hints at big plan
Roger Federer has hinted at a return to the court as he looks to get back into top shape.
-
Tennis News
Iga Swiatek reveals biggest hurdle to her completing a career Grand Slam
Iga Swiatek discussed when she hopes to complete a career Grand Slam and suggested what her biggest hurdle may be.
-
Tennis News
‘Carlos Alcaraz was No 1 most of this year but all the players still think Novak Djokovic is No 1’
A top analyst has claimed “all the players” still think Novak Djokovic is the best player in the world.
-
ATP Tour
Nightmare draw for Andy Murray as Carlos Alcaraz learns his fate in China Open
Carlos Alcaraz set to return to action for the first time since the US Open.
-
Tennis News
Huge money on offer in China with record prize pot up for grabs for top women
The top women players will be chasing a huge cash prize at the China Open.