Emma Raducanu handed glorious chance to make progress after kind Indian Wells draw
Emma Raducanu has been handed a big chance to make progress in the next phase of her comeback after she was paired alongside a Qualifier in the opening round of the BNP Paribas Masters at Indian Wells.
The 2021 US Open champion reached the fourth round of the prestigious WTA 1000 event last year, in what proved to be the highlight of an injury-disrupted year.
It means she has some points to defend as she returns to the Californian desert and the draw has been kind to the British wildcard entrant, as she will take on a player who will battle their way through qualifying.
Raducanu, currently ranked a lowly 252 in the world as she continues to work her way back from surgery on her wrists and ankle, has been able to rely largely on wildcards to play in high-profile tournaments.
The 22-year-old has also received a wildcard to play at the subsequent Miami Open.
Raducanu has played four events so far this year – winning three matches – and headed home to London to train after a first-round loss to Anhelina Kalinina in Doha last month.
READ MORE: Tennis legend not convinced Emma Raducanu will regain peak form
The 21-year-old will face Dayana Yastremska if she comes through her opening match and the omens may be positive in that clash also, as she won her only previous meeting with the Ukrainian in 2002.
A third-round clash against recently re-crowned Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka could beckon for Raducanu at Indian Wells, but she would be happy to get that far after a challenging year that has been dominated by injury worries.
As a former Grand Slam champion, Raducanu will get wildcards into big tournaments that will allow her to climb the rankings, but she will come up against the best players in the game when she enters the WTA 1000-level tournaments.
Many have suggested the world No 262 should play lower-ranking events to get matches under her belt, yet former British No 1 Laura Robson has a different view.
Speaking exclusively to Tennis365 at the launch of the Sky Sports Tennis channel, Robson told us that she would follow the same route as Raducanu if she was in her shoes.
“It’s not really going for the jackpot playing these events,” insisted Robson, speaking exclusively to Tennis365.
“She played very well in some of the matches she had this year and she clearly feels her level is good enough to challenge at these tournaments, so why not go for them?
“If it doesn’t go well, then you can go back to the drawing board and maybe enter a few lower tournaments.
“If the opportunities are there to pick up very big points without too many match wins without winning too many matches, you have to take them.
“The way the points work, you could win two WTA 250 tournaments or have a run at a WTA 1000 event and you basically get the same number of points for your ranking. If I were here, I’d be playing the same tournaments.
“She is competing really well and ever in the matches she has lost, she has been right in them.
“The fact that she has been playing more aggressively and getting closer to the baseline is great to see. She is playing a brand of tennis close to what we saw when she won the US Open and she just needs time on court and consistency to get her to that level.
“Emma has used this re-start as an opportunity to just start again and it has been really good to see.”
There was also an encouraging first-round draw for Raducanu’s fellow Brit Katie Boulter, who is heading to Indian Wells on the back of her first WTA 500 title in San Diego last Sunday.
Boulter will take on Italy’s Camila Giorgi in the first round and could play Czech star Linda Noskovo in round two before a potential meeting with world No 1 Iga Swiatek in round three.
