Emma Raducanu crashes out of Indian Wells in second round

Emma Raducanu crashes out of Indian Wells tournament in second round

Emma Raducanu, less than one month after completing one of the biggest tennis upsets in history, has been knocked out of the BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells tournament in California, in the second round.

The 18-year-old Brit was the toast of the tennis world after winning the US Open in New York, but was beaten easily, 6-2, 6-4, in just 84 minutes, by world No 100, Aliaksandra Sasnovich from Belarus. A tough reminder of life on the WTA tour.

After a month of dealing with her newfound global fame, coupled with invitations to A-List galas and film premieres, it was back to the stark reality of having yet to win a top-level match on the WTA tour.

Emma Raducanu makes a plea for a new coach

After her defeat, Raducanu made a serious plea for a new coach. After winning in New York, Emma split with Andrew Richardson, and has not yet found a new coach. Former British men’s No1, the 59-year-old Jeremy Bates has been filling the role temporarily.

“I’d love to have someone with great experience right now by my side so if any experienced coaches are out there looking, you know where to find me. I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I’m sure my team and everyone will try and find a solution. I wasn’t joking. If anyone knows any experienced coaches”, said the 18-year-old after her defeat.

It would seem that the surefire favourite for the coaching position will be Carlos Rodriguez. The Argentinian coached Li Na, the Chinese Grand Slam champion, and has links to Emma’s agents IMG.

Offering very little in the way of excuses for her straight-sets defeat, Emma said, “It’s going to take me time to adjust to what’s going on. I mean I’m still so new to everything. 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”.

Adding, “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”, as reported by thesun.co.uk.