"I didn't think I would play" - Raducanu after Indian Wells exit
WTA
Emma Raducanu lost to Iga Swiatek at the WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells, and it ended a very successful stint for her, one that almost never happened.
Raducanu arrived in the Californian city with no preparation due to tonsillitis that she had to deal with the week before and a wrist issue that made it hard for her to play tennis.
It certainly didn't allow her to play the way she wanted to play, but still, Raducanu rose above all of that and made her way to the fourth round, losing in respectable fashion to Swiatek. After the match, she could find the positives in her loss.
"Overall I feel like physically she is much further ahead than I am at this moment. I think I was able to stay competitive in the beginning of the first set."- Raducanu on battling Swiatek
"I think the first three games took over 20 minutes. And we were having some pretty epic rallies, and I actually think my defense got better."
Raducanu somewhat considers it a miracle to be able to play at all, as she expected to skip this week. She elected to play her first-round clash only 20 minutes before the match, so winning that one and making it to the fourth round made her happy.
"I think especially because of where I was before this tournament, didn't think I would even play, to be honest. But to have played and then won three rounds and beaten two amazing opponents, yeah, I'm very proud of myself."
Raducanu is excited about what the future holds because she proved to herself at this event that she can hang with the best. With continuous work, she's certain that she can get to that level, the level of a World No. 1, which she saw up close from Swiatek.
"Now it's just about consistent work to physically get to where I want to be. I saw a taste of the level where No.1 is at physically and how she is at the corners, repetitive, relentless. Yeah, I just couldn't take that."
