Emma Raducanu excited for WTA Indian Wells debut after US Open triumph - 'I'm ready for the next challenge'
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Published 06/10/2021 at 09:09 GMT
"I'm ready for the next challenge," Raducanu said in a pre-tournament interview. "I had such a great time in New York and an amazing experience. It started to sink in gradually, but I think I still will need time for it to fully sink in. But yeah, it's a great place here and I can't wait to get started. I think the form that I had in New York was a gradual build up of so many weeks of tennis."
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Emma Raducanu has spoken of her excitement ahead of her WTA Indian Wells debut after the Brit's remarkable US Open triumph.
The 18-year-old was a shock victor at Flushing Meadows last month after coming through qualifying, and now she is looking to make a big impact in the Californian desert.
Raducanu's astonishing crown in New York saw her ranking leap from world No. 150 to world No. 22, and she still has a chance of qualifying for the WTA Finals in Mexico if she can shine at Indian Wells.
The Brit, who has received a wildcard for the prestigious tournament, has a first-round bye before she is scheduled to face either Maria Camila Osorio Serrano and Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round. She could then be faced with a potentially intriguing clash with former world No. 1, and one of her inspirations, Simona Halep.
"Yeah, I'm ready for the next challenge," Raducanu said in a pre-tournament interview. "I had such a great time in New York and an amazing experience.
"It started to sink in gradually, but I think I still will need time for it to fully sink in. But yeah, it's a great place here and I can't wait to get started.
"I think the form that I had in New York was a gradual build up of so many weeks of tennis, and I think that definitely helped that playing a lot of matches. But yeah, we'll see what the future holds."
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Kate Middleton plays tennis with Emma Raducanu
Raducanu parted ways with British coach Andrew Richardson, who guided her incredible achievements in New York, after electing not to extend their short-term partnership.
While she will be aided by the Lawn Tennis Association's national women's coach Jeremy Bates at Indian Wells, this is also believed to be a partnership of convenience, and she is "not going to rush" the appointment of a permanent coach.
"Yeah, I don't want to rush into anything making a decision because it's a pretty big decision to make," Raducanu said.
"I am looking for someone hopefully with more to our experience at a high level because like I'm now twenty two in the world and it's new to me, so I wish that I would have someone who had been there and experienced it.
"But yeah, my coach Andrew from US Open was great and we had a lot of good times together. But I think for this next chapter, I just want someone with more experience."
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